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Difference between Tank and Tankless Water Heaters

The most fundamental difference between the tank type and tankless water heaters is that the tank type has a reservoir or storage tank. A major functional difference between the two types is that there is no standby heat loss in a tankless water heater.

Water heaters are used by almost all Atlanta households to fulfill their requirement for warm water. This basic appliance is considered to be one of the essential requirements for any family. Before installing a new water heater, it is always sensible to analyze its size and energy efficiency because water heating involves huge electricity consumption. In terms of energy efficiency of water heaters, the type of heater and fuel used by it must be taken into account.

Before you start shopping for your next water heater, it is important for you to know that the performance of different water heaters using the same fuel may vary significantly. As an example, the efficiency of  electrically operated pump water heaters is much higher comparing to electric storage type heaters. Tank type and tankless type are the two variants of water heaters in terms of configuration.

The heating system in a storage tank type water heater is installed inside an insulated tank with special design features. An inlet pipe supplies cold water to this tank and heating take place as per the set temperature. The hot water is retained within this tank till it is withdrawn for use. On the other hand, no hot water storage takes place in tankless water heaters. Heating is accomplished by passing cold water through heating coils.

Talking about energy efficiency, tank type water heaters require more electricity of operate. They have high energy consumption because the water is heated and stored continuously within the tank. Cold water enters the tank whenever hot water is withdrawn from it. Therefore, the storage tank is always filled up with hot water, regardless of your requirement. This standby loss contributes to a significant wastage of energy in tank type water heaters.

Another disadvantage of tank type heaters is that the availability of hot water depends on the size of the storage tank. Therefore, the available amount of hot water is either insufficient or excess for your requirement. Whereas, demand based hot water supply is available in tankless water heaters. This is why the size of the tank must be taken into consideration while purchasing tank type water heaters.

Standby heat loss in tank type water heaters can be reduced by proper insulation of the reservoir. This also protects the tank from rust and corrosion. In case of tankless water heaters, the water inlet pipe must have a sediment filter to prevent cracking.