Water heating options

Where you live, as well as the life style you lead, the number of people in your household, and where you'll put the water heating system, you'll need to factor these realities in if you're going to purchase a new hot water system, or getting a back up system.

Having this basic information at hand, will ensure you'll get hot water every day of the year, when you want and however much you need ? at the best cost possible. This will also help you decide, if you should stick to the traditional water heating system you've used or if you'll step out of the box and try an alternate water heating system.

Here's a short list of the different water heating systems, available today

Electric hot water tank

This system uses heating elements that are located at the topmost and bottom parts of your tank. Because they don't need vents, you can install or put them wherever you feel is the best location. For example in Canada many R-2000 energy saving homes have this water heating system.

Induced draft gas hot water tanks

This heating system has a fan that's found at the top of the tank itself. What the fan does is to induce movement of the combustion gases to go through a sealed plastic pipe and then out the sidewall of the house. You'll find that a lot of these units use combustion and dilution air found inside the house. However, due to the combustion gas exhaust fan pressure; you won't have to worry about the backdrafting combustion gas spillage. You'll need to buy a condensing furnace that works well with this kind of heating system.

Natural draft gas hot water tanks

These are inexpensive units, which come with a naturally aspirating burner and draft hood, which is connected to a vertical chimney vent. However, this particular equipment more prone is more subject to combustion gas spillage compared to the other models mentioned, here, so you'll need to make sure you have a furnace that works well with this equipment. Another factor you'll need to think about is, if you live in an highly energy efficient home. These homes experience a higher degree of air tightness, so it's not advisable to install a unit of this kind.

Direct vent gas hot water tanks

As stated a direct vent or sealed combustion water carries combustion air in from the outside, while venting the combustion gases out through a single concentric pipe. As there is no interconnection between the burner and house air, they are spillage resistant and work very well in the more closely sealed Homes.

Tankless water heater

You could purchase an instantaneous water heater or tankless water heater, which as its name indicates provides hot water, without the aid of storage tank. You can choose either a gas or electricity driven unit. In tankless water heaters, temperate water runs through a pipe into the unit, and then either a gas burner or an electric element heats the water.

Solar Units

Or you could try a solar powered heating water system. Solar heaters derive their power from the sun's energy, and channel the heat to water.

You can purchase a reliable solar heater and use this as your main source for heating water. Or you can decide to use this unit as the back up system. If so, then select a solar heater, which allows you to be the back up for either electric or gas water heater.

Take your time to do research on this system - find out the differences between the different water heating systems ? so you can save on money, your time and resource. Not only that but the right water heater for your home will mean a lot of difference on whether you'll have hot water when you need it, in the amount, you want to use the water heater to produce.

John Thomson is webmaster at heaters heating where heating information is a click away. Specializing in on demand water heaters.