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Which water heater is better to choose?

Most people decide to buy a water heater in the summer, when utilities turn off hot water in order to carry out repair and maintenance work. In addition, water heaters are vital for those who live in a country house, where there is no centralized hot water supply at all. Then there is a lively interest in what kind of water heaters are – how to choose a suitable model from the many existing devices. To do this, you need to familiarize yourself with the basic functions and features of water heaters, which are widely represented in the domestic market of household appliances. First of all, you need to decide what type of water heater is suitable for you, on what fuel it will work. Here the choice is small – it is either a gas water heater or electric.

Content

• Economical gas water heater
• Electric storage device for heating water
• Electric instantaneous water heater
• Implement Selection Guide

Economical gas water heater

If there is gas in the house, it is most convenient to use a gas water heater (column) – it heats water much faster than an electric one. These modern appliances are safe to operate: if the burner suddenly goes out, the gas supply stops.

The ignition process of the device is fully automated, the gas burns out completely during start-up. The main advantage of a gas water heater over an electric one is its efficiency (gas costs less than electricity).

The question is which gas water heater to install – flow or storage.

If the family is large (7-10 people), you can install a storage device with a capacity of more than 200 liters. For a small family, you should choose a gas-fired gas water heater that heats the water almost instantly. When choosing such a device, you must definitely take an interest in its power. If you do not need to use a shower and wash dishes in the kitchen at the same time, it is quite possible to choose a gas appliance with an output of 18-19 kilowatts. And with the parallel use of warm water in the bathroom and in the kitchen, the capacity of the water heater should be at least 24 kW. By the way, for electric water heaters, such power is considered prohibitive, the thickness of the wire for such an eyeliner would be no less than the thickness of a finger. Therefore, if there is gas in the house, the question of which water heater is better – gas or electric – should not even arise. Of course, gas.

The low cost of gas water heaters makes them affordable for a wide range of customers. There is one nuance that must be taken into account when acquiring a gas water heater – it is necessary to take out the products of gas combustion. They are usually brought out through the hood. On this issue, you need to consult with a specialist. If there is no gas in the kitchen (which recently, unfortunately, is becoming more common), you need to turn your attention to electric water heaters. Then you need to solve another question, on which heater to stop – flow or storage?

Electric storage device for heating water

In the storage water heater (boiler), the water is heated to 35-38 ° C and then its temperature is maintained at this level automatically. When the tap is opened, warm water flows out of the tank, and instead the next portion of cold water enters the tank. The duration of water heating in these water heaters depends on two parameters. This is the volume of the tank and the power of the heater. In order to minimize energy losses, water tanks are insulated (in the form of a thermos), which does not allow heat to be transferred to heat the room where the water heater is installed.

Such a device can be connected to a conventional outlet, as for the gradual heating of water does not require high power. For example, 150-liter water heaters of this type consume no more than 2 kilowatts. It is this fact that makes these devices popular, since they can be installed in almost any room. In addition, the high demand for them is due to another advantage of storage water heaters: water can be consumed from two water points at the same time – in the kitchen and in the bathroom.

On the other hand, boilers have some drawbacks. These are large dimensions, the need for periodic maintenance: cleaning the heating elements from scale, replacing the magnesium anode. It is no secret that any heating element during operation is covered with scale, which reduces its heat transfer, and, consequently, the energy consumption for heating water increases. To protect the heater from scale, a magnesium anode in the form of a rod is built near it. Dissolving during operation, it reduces the formation of scale. As wear and tear, and this depends on the intensity of operation and the level of water hardness, the anode is changed. The volume of heated water depends on the capacity of the tank, so when choosing a storage water heater, you need to focus on the capacity you need.

For a tank that is too large, the energy consumption will be greater, and it will occupy excess space. Therefore, it is worth thinking well to choose a device with the optimal capacity for you, not to spend extra money and not to occupy the extra area. If the water heater is only needed to supply warm water in case of periodic outages, a volume of 10-15 liters will be sufficient. Only for taking a shower will be sufficient appliance with a tank capacity of 50 liters. A hot bath will require a tank of up to 150 liters. In a country house where there is no centralized hot water supply, the required volume is 200 liters or more.

By the way: for a country house, it will be useful to have such an additional function as freezing prevention, which is indicated by the snowflake icon on the control panel.

Most manufacturers produce horizontal and vertical models; recently, modern universal designs have been created (installed as necessary – either horizontally or vertically).

Electric instantaneous water heater

Instantaneous water heaters operate according to the following principle: passing through a heating element, water immediately flows from a hot tap (up to 60 ° C). Such devices are compact, easy to install and reinstall if necessary to a new place. Their big minus is high power – from 3 to 24 kW. For this reason, they can only be used in places where the electrical network is designed for such high power. In houses with conventional wiring, where there are gas stoves, the maximum allowable load on the power grid is 3 kW.

Therefore, choosing such a device, you will have to change not only the wiring, but also the counter, the introductory machine, and install an additional machine directly for the water heater. All these costs can exceed the cost of the water heater itself. In houses equipped with electric stoves, the maximum load on the network is 8 kW. In this case, a flow-through water heater can be connected to the wiring for the stove, but these devices can only be used alternately. The main advantage of instantaneous water heaters is that they are capable of delivering hot water in unlimited quantities, but the disadvantage is the inability to simultaneously provide several points with hot water.

Implement Selection Guide

1. Which device is best for you: electric or gas.

2. After calculating how much hot water you need, select the volume of the storage water heater or the flow capacity.

3. Decide on the installation location of the device for heating water: on the wall, above or below the sink, and select the desired model.