Types of Water Heaters – Water heater is a device for plumbing that is made to heat cold water and in some cases also to store hot water to be used later.

Water heaters are necessary to reheat the incoming cold water for appliances and fixtures such as sinks, clothes washers, dishwashers, showers, and baths to produce warm or hot water.

There are, however, a number of additional types of water heaters, such as solar, tankless, and point-of-use models.

Types of Water Heater

1.Tank Water Heater

The tank water heater is one of the most affordable water heater systems in the market. The tank water heater is designed to heat and store the already hot water until it’s needed.

Most commonly, the water heater have a large insulated tank that can store a hot water between 30-80 gallons of water (113,5 – 303 liters).

And also, the tank water heaters are most commonly powered with either electricity or natural gas. But, there are some that use LPG or oil.

The tank water heater works by heating cold water to a set temperature as the cold water enters the tank. And once the water inside the tank reaches the designated temperature, the heater stops automatically.

And also, it will switch back on to reheat the water to the desired temperature once the hot water is used or enough time has passed for the water to cool.

2. Tankless Water Heater

The next one is the tankless water heater, it’s the opposite of a tank water heater as it doesn’t have the tank to store the water.

It works by streaming then rapidly heating the cold water with a short series of super-heated coils. This is useful as the tankless water heater is only heating water when it’s needed.

Also, because this types of water heater does not have a tank, you don’t have to worry about wasting power to heat and reheat the water.

Another benefit of tankless water heater is its compactness, compared to tank water heaters, the tankless water heaters are less than half the size of a standard tank water heater, making them ideal options for small places.

A tankless system might not be the greatest choice if affordability is your top priority, though. Because the cost to buy and install one is typically more than that of a normal tank water heater.

Also Read: “The Differences Between a Boiler and a Water Heater“

3. Point of Use Water Heater

If you need even a more compact water heater, the point of use water heater might be your best option!

This is because the point of use water heater only provides hot water to one plumbing fixture such as a shower or kitchen sink.

Usually, the point of use water heater have a small tank to store a limited amount of water that is ready to use when it’s needed, but you can also find the tankless variation as well.

The benefits of this point of use water heater is obvious, as it is compact, it don’t take a lot of space in your home. And other than that, it’s generally cheaper compared to other types of water heaters.

The only drawback of this water heater is that they are a little bit less efficient than most water heater types.

4. Solar Water Heater

As its name implies the solar water heater uses solar energy that is converted by the solar panel into electricity to heat the water.

Much like conventional tank water heaters, they also have a large insulated tank to store the already hot water for future use.

They don’t solely rely on solar power, usually there’s a gas or electric fuel system as a back-up power to ensure that you’ll have a nice hot water for your shower.

The major benefit of them is that it’s cost-efficient as it mostly relies on solar power as its fuel. But this is also being a drawback, as the solar water heater is less effective in areas with a lot of snow falls as the snow can block the solar panel thus preventing the solar energy collection.

And on top of that, the solar water heater is also more expensive to install than other conventional water heater systems.

Also Read: “Tankless vs. Tank Water Heater“

5. Hybrid Water Heater

The last one is the hybrid water heater system. This type of water heater uses the ambient heat that is collected from the ground and air to heat the water.

With this operation, it can use up to 60 percent less power than a conventional tank water system.

The hybrid water heating system consists of a big, insulated storage tank with a heat pump installed on top of it.

Compared to a traditional tank water heater, these systems require more room because of the tank and heat pump combination.

Usually the hybrid water heating system is more costly than traditional tank heaters and on top of that the hybrid water heaters are not advised for locations with cold climates because they are significantly rely on ambient heat.

There you go! The 5 types of water heater to choose for lovely hot showers after a long day at work.

The next one that you should consider is the safety of the water heating systems regarding its types.

So, we advise you to choose the water systems that have already been certified by the SNI certification.

The SNI certificate is the certification for various products or services to ensure that every aspect of safety and quality is tested and up to Indonesian standards before being sold or distributed in Indonesia.

For the water heating system, the regulation is clearly stated in SNI IEC 60335-2-21:2010 and SNI IEC 60335-2-35:2010 about tank and tankless water heating systems respectively.