What’s right for you: a gas or electric tankless water heater?

Traditional vs. electric tankless water heater: Which is right for you?

When it comes to choosing the next water heater for your home, you’re probably trying to do a lot of research to determine which is the best option for you and your household needs. If you’re debating which one to pick, here’s a few tips to help make your decision a little easier:

The advantage of going with an electric tankless water heater

Traditional hot water heaters usually sit in basements and provide gallons of hot water at one time by holding the heated water in it’s tank. The downside to this is that there’s a lot of standby energy loss as the tank holds the water until it needs to be used. And once you’ve used up your water supply, you need to wait 20 minutes to an hour in order for your water heater to heat up more water.

An electric tankless water heater only produces hot water as you need it. When you turn on your faucet, water is heated up as it goes throw pipes heated by either a gas burner or electric coils. Because your water is heated as needed (on-demand), your electric tankless water heater reducing your energy loss and increases efficiency by up to 50% (compared to conventional hot water tank systems).

The downsides

While an electric tankless water heater can pump hot water out all day, it can’t produce a large amount all at once. This means you’ll likely experience temperature fluctuations more often, depending on the size of your tankless water heater and your household demands

Energy Savings

• A study done by the U.S. Department of Energy found that an electric tankless water heater is more efficient. It uses much less energy than traditional water heaters – saving you up to hundreds of dollars each year.
• If your hot water use is relatively low (less than 41 gal/day), an electric tankless water heater will be up to 35% more energy efficient
• If you use more water (86+ gal/day), a tankless water heater will be up to 15% more efficient

Looking for more information about an electric tankless water heater vs. a traditional water heater? Contact A-Abel plumbing for more information about which water heater is right for you.