Options For Your Kitchen Water Heater
The kitchen water heater is a costly household fixture that often gets ignored until it fails. Thankfully there are plenty of options for you to consider when purchasing and installing your new kitchen water heater.
This little electric unit sits under the sink and heats water instantly as it flows through. A gentle beep alerts you when the water is boiling.
Types of Water Heaters
The water heater is one of the most expensive appliances in your home, consuming almost 20 percent of your energy costs. Despite its importance, the average household does not give much thought to their water heater until it begins to show signs of trouble: loud noises, odd smells or rusty-colored water. While people tend to focus on gas and electric models, there is a wide range of options available to suit all lifestyles and budgets.
Conventional storage tank models have a ready reservoir of hot water and are the classic water heater seen in many sitcoms. They use gas or electricity to heat the water in an insulated tank. When properly sized, they can meet the needs of most households. However, they can run out of hot water when the household exceeds its normal usage.
For those interested in saving money on their power bills, there are also tankless and condensing models available. High-efficiency condensing water heaters funnel the heated exhaust from a natural gas heating system into the water, reducing their overall energy usage by up to half. However, this type of water heater requires a natural gas heating system and will not work in a home with an electric boiler. Heat pump models, on the other hand, move rather than generate heat to warm the water, using as little as half the energy of traditional electric resistance heaters.
Point of Use Water Heaters
Rather than providing hot water to multiple outlets throughout the home, point of use (POU) water heaters heat it close to where it’s used. These units are sometimes called on-demand or tankless POU water heaters, and they’re often used in places like the kitchen sink and washing machine to eliminate long wait times for hot water.
While these units can’t provide instantaneous hot water like a whole-house heater, they can save homeowners money and energy in the long run. These units are available in both tank and tankless models, and you can choose which type of water heater is best for Kitchen instant water heater your needs by considering the gallons per minute (GPM) flow rate required for the area where it’s installed.
If you want to install a POU water heater in your home, be sure to hire a licensed plumber for proper installation. If you’re thinking about doing it yourself, be sure to research the unit electric tankless boiler thoroughly to learn the basic maintenance tasks and safety precautions before starting. Water heaters that are improperly installed can cause serious damage to your home and are dangerous for you and your family. You should also have a professional perform regular maintenance to extend its lifespan and ensure that it’s operating safely. Then, you can enjoy a lifetime of comfort, convenience and savings.
Tank Water Heaters
Most homes in America use conventional storage tank water heaters, and these are relatively inexpensive and easy to install. They have an insulated tank that holds 30-50 gallons of hot water, from which a pipe delivers hot water to the house’s plumbing when needed. They use natural gas, electricity, fuel oil or propane to heat the water and keep a supply at the ready. When a faucet is turned on, hot water flows out of the top of the tank into the home’s pipes and through the tap. Then the tank refills from the bottom, heating and storing more water for future use. When the tap is closed, the tank shuts off the heating mechanism.
These tanks have a thermostat that you can adjust to control the temperature of the water, and the heating element or burner is located in the bottom of the tank. To calculate your home’s peak hour demand, add up the number of gallons-per-minute of water used by every fixture and appliance in your home and multiply it by the corresponding flow rate. Look for a water heater that has a first-hour rating (FHR) equal to or greater than your household’s peak hour demand to get the most energy efficiency.
Tank-less water heaters are much smaller than traditional models and can fit in closets or vanities and provide on-demand hot water to individual faucets and appliances, such as your shower. They don’t have a large reservoir of heated water to supply and therefore use far less energy than conventional tank-type heaters, and they avoid the costly energy losses of a continuous heating process known as standby loss.
Gas Tankless Water Heaters
Gas tankless water heaters can be more expensive to purchase and install than traditional tanked units, but they save energy and money over time by heating water only as it is needed. They are available in natural gas and propane models, like this Rinnai RU199iN model that also features digital connectivity, so owners can adjust and monitor their unit’s performance remotely.
Look for a high Energy Star rating to make sure your unit meets energy efficiency standards. Choose a model with a flow rate that matches your household’s hot-water demands (faucets require 0.5 GPM, dishwashers 1 GPM, and washing machines 1.5 GPM). If you live in an area with hard water, opt for an electric model that includes a built-in recirculation pump to keep mineral buildup from clogging the heat exchanger.
Although these units are generally more environmentally friendly than standard tank water heaters, they can still contribute to climate change by emitting unburned methane—a greenhouse gas. Look for units that use a renewable energy source, like biogas or propane, to minimize their environmental impact.