Tank vs. Tankless Water Heater: How to Choose the Right One for Your Home?

You step into a shower with hot water running over your body, and, only a few minutes in, your hot water stream turns cold. You realize that somebody else in the house is also taking a hot shower. With only two hot showers taking place simultaneously, your tank water heater just couldn't keep up. Left standing in the shower, cold and frustrated, you are waiting for 45 minutes to get your hot water back again.

Tankless water heaters are becoming more and more popular in Rock Springs, Wyoming. However, many homeowners don't know how to choose between a tank and tankless water heater. In this article, we will discuss the pros and cons of tank and tankless water heaters to help you make an informed decision about which type is perfect for your home.

A tanked water heater can run out of hot water. This differs from a tankless water heater, which produces your hot water on-demand. The latter can be a more energy-efficient option for your household.

Most homes are equipped with a tanked water heaters this is simply because of cost. The builder wants what is best for the overall budget for the project. Traditional tank water heater systems can be adapted to all types of homes. Such as just electricity and no gas or various types of gas such as propane, or natural. This makes them very versatile for every type of home and use of hot water. Tanked systems are also  easy to maintain. On the other hand, if you only have gas coming into your home. You use a lot of hot water, or you travel and are not home that often. Then a tankless system might be best. A tankless system can save you money on your energy bills in the long-run.

Being that we are in a colder region. An all electric tankless can not heat the very cold water coming into your home properly. For this reason if you have electric in your home you may want to consider a newer Hybrid tanked system. For this contact us to find out more. But if you have gas coming into your home you may want to consider the following.

A tankless water heater typically uses less gas than a tank water heater because it only heats hot water when you need it. A cost-saving factor in choosing a tankless water heater is it can be turned off when not needed, and only has to heat up the amount of hot water you need at that moment. What does this mean? This means no standing pilot as a result this saves on gas and electricity bills. With a tank water heater, gas or electricity the heater is in use 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, just to keep your tank with 30 - 50 gallons of ready to use hot water up to the correct temperature. At the end of each month, you end up with higher utility bills.

A tankless water heater has a longer life expectancy (compared to a traditional tank) because it is only used when needed. If maintained correctly this can be 15 years or more. The traditional tank will only last about 6 to 10 years if maintained correctly. Filling a hot tub often would be a great reason to go tankless. One of the drawbacks is the amount of time to get the water hot (There is a coil, water has to flow through as it gets hot inside the tankless unit) this means a longer wait and more water down the drain before hot water arrives at the faucet. This problem is called cold water sandwich.

However with the Navien units that Aspen Mountain Plumbing installs this is no longer an issue. This system has what is called a comfort flow system, which keeps a small amount (less than a gallon) of water hot allowing for immediate hot water running once your faucet is opened. The only true down side would be the initial cost for a tankless system ,and the fact that the gas pressures in the home must be able to sustain this system. Remember though long term utility costs will go down starting immediately.

So when it comes down to choosing between a new tank water heater or a new tankless water heater,  it is really about individual needs.

A tankless water heater will save you money over time, while a traditional water heater tank will replace the old one you have and won't save you much money on your utility bills.