When it’s time to purchase a new water heater in Lakeland, FL, it’s vital to develop an understanding of the pros and cons of the various styles. That way, you can weigh them against each other to determine what type is the most energy efficient, along with what style is the most affordable. To help you sort through all the information, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing presents this guide to water heaters!
What Types of Water Heaters Are There?
There are five unique styles of water heaters. As you’ll soon learn, selecting the most energy efficient unit for your Lakeland home isn’t quite as simple as you’d think.
Storage Tank
Better known as the conventional style, this is the type of water heater that you’ve probably seen most often. It typically keeps enough hot water on hand to take care of daily showers and housework. However, if you have a visitor, it might become harder for a storage tank water heater to provide enough hot water.
This is the most affordable water heater, but it suffers from standby heat loss. Therefore, it has a difficult time maintaining energy efficiency, unless you purchase an insulated storage tank. An insulated tank will lower your energy use and reduce heat losses. Either way, this style has an expected lifespan of 10-15 years.
Tankless
Also known as a demand-type water heater, a tankless unit provides a steady supply of hot water. This style is also 8-34% more energy efficient than a storage tank and can save you approximately $100 annually. On the downside, they have a limited flow rate of hot water. In other words, if multiple people try to use hot water at the same time, they might not all be satisfied. Plus, it takes a long time for the energy savings to add up to the higher initial purchase price.
If your Lakeland household uses a lot of water, be sure to install at least two tankless water heaters. The life expectancy of each individual unit is around 20+ years.
Heat Pump
A heat pump water heater provides two to three times the energy efficiency you can expect from a storage tank unit. If you combine this with an Energy Star heat pump water heater, you stand to save almost $300 a year on energy costs. However, these units are also location dependent. This means that the farther away you are from the heat pump, the harder it’ll be to get enough hot water.
Additionally, these water heaters make it harder for your air conditioner to work efficiently. Switching your water heater to regular resistance mode can solve this issue, but it’ll also bring down your unit’s energy efficiency. These units are expected to last between 10 and 15 years.
Solar
Solar water heaters are the most expensive option, but they also provide tremendous energy savings. In fact, they’re typically about 50% more efficient than an electric or gas water heater. Of course, they may also require a backup system for periods of high demand and on cloudy days.
There is a solution to the problem presented above, though. You can purchase a solar water heater that also includes a storage water heater. Problem solved! If you opt for a solar water heater, you can expect it to last approximately 20 years.
Tankless Coil and Indirect
An indirect or tankless coil water heater will heat water by using your Lakeland home’s space heating system. You’ll benefit from lower maintenance and installation costs. However, the tradeoff is that they’re generally less efficient, particularly in warmer climates such as Lakeland. Furthermore, they have the shortest life expectancy of the bunch with only 10-11 years.
What Type of Fuel Are You Using?
If you think you’ve already found the perfect hot water heater type, it’s now time to reassess your choices. That is because the type of fuel you’re using can make a big difference.
- Electricity – Compatible with storage, tankless, heat pump and tankless coil and indirect options.
- Fuel oil – Works with storage and tankless coil and indirect water heaters.
- Geothermal energy – Works with the heat pump style only.
- Natural gas – Works with storage, tankless, heat pump and tankless coil and indirect units.
- Propane – Compatible with storage, tankless and tankless coil and indirect options.
- Solar energy – Will only work well with a solar water heater.
Key Points to Consider
There are three specific key points you must also consider before choosing a water heater.
Efficiency
This point is further split into three sub-points: Cycling losses, standby losses and recovery efficiency. In other words, ask yourself the following questions:
- How much heat is lost by the water cycling through the pipes?
- What percentage of heat loss will I suffer per hour?
- How efficiently can it transfer from the heat source to the water?
Cost
Consider the total cost of the unit and installation. Don’t get caught up in a special sales price and then find out that installation is super expensive. You’ll also want to consider the unit’s expected annual maintenance and operating costs.
Size
Determine your Lakeland household’s peak hot water demand, then make sure the unit you choose is large enough to handle it.
Which is Better?
There is no way for us to decide on the right style for you without knowing every variable. We can say, though, that a tankless coil and indirect water heater probably isn’t the right choice for Lakeland. Give us a call for more specific advice.
Top-Notch Plumbing Team in Lakeland
No matter what style of water heater you have or are looking to buy, the team at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing in Lakeland can help! Reach out to us today to learn more about water heater installation and repairs, including tankless units.