The purpose of a hot water heater is to provide hot water to the home. The most common form of a hot water heater is the storage tank hot water heater and the tankless hot water heater. Either type may be powered by oil, gas or electricity.

The construction of the storage tank hot water heaters consists of an insulated vessel that contains a heating element that heats the water. These storage tanks vary in size from 20 to 100 gallons. The heating element may be a series of pipes, and electrical heating element probes for electric hot water heaters. For oil or gas units there is a burner at the bottom of the tank. Cold water enters at the bottom of the heater and as it’s heated, the lighter hot water rises to the top and out to the network of plumbing to the bathroom or kitchen.

In cases of storage tank hot water heaters, the cold water enters the heater and is heated and stored until used. In tankless water heaters there is no tank for storage but as the hot water leaves the heater the incoming cold water fills the heater automatically and gets heated. One would think that the hot water supply would be limited but that is not the case. You can use as much hot water as you want without running out.

The storage tank hot water heater is the most popular used in home construction. The tankless heaters are increasing in popularity but they are still more expensive to buy than the storage tank type. However, overall the tankless hot water heater is cheaper to operate than the storage tank type because there is no standing water to keep hot while it waits to be used.

Large commercial enterprises such as bakeries use multiple types of water heaters. They use multiple heaters because a single heater cannot fulfill the requirement of the entire demand. Tankless hot water heaters are very quick to provide hot water and are very efficient and durable.

In new home construction the storage tank hot water heater is still the norm but for condominiums and vacation homes, the tankless unit is more popular as it is less expensive to operate and provides sufficient hot water on demand.

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