We all have faced this problem at least once in our life when we wanted to buy a water heater for either our house or apartment. Every person from every age group faces this problem. You are either a bachelor searching for the cheapest and the best alternative or you are a person who wants a new water heater for his or her whole family.
This article will help you in finding the best there is for you. This article will provide you with different kinds of water heaters available and why you should buy them. I am sure your queries will be resolved by the end of this article.
Table of Contents
Types of water heaters
Storage water heaters
These water heaters are the best for a small, nuclear family. These are the normal household water heaters that are mostly found in houses containing a single-family. In these water heaters, you have to turn them on fifteen minutes ago. These water heaters are further divided into two types explained below:
Electric water heaters
The range for these water heaters varies from 5 to 400 liters. I would recommend this heater if you have a small family and you want something safe. The only problem with these water heaters is that the water is not heated if you don’t have electricity. You would have to use cold water in case of a blackout. The advantage of these types is that they use less electricity than tankless water heaters. They heat the water more quickly and are automatically turned off later.
The disadvantage is that the water slowly cools down because the heat escapes the walls slowly and hence cooling the water down. Once the water is cooled down, the heater turns on and heats the water again. These water heaters also have a significant wait time in order to use it again. If you use an electric water heater once, you have to wait for a while to get more hot water.
They are slow compared to tankless or instant water heaters. The slow speed makes it harder for the user to get hot water during cold. These water heaters can take up to 15 minutes to heat the water properly. No one wants to wait that long during winter mornings. This happens because these types of water heaters use an electric coil that takes a while to heat the water.
Companies that provide electric water heaters on Amazon and Flipkart are these:
Bajaj water heaters
Crampton water heaters
Havells water heaters
Jaquar water heaters
Usha water heaters
Gas water heaters
These water heaters are the same as electric ones and that’s why they fall under the same category. The difference between these two is these gas water heaters work on natural gas like LPG. These water heaters are costlier to operate because natural gases are costlier than electricity. Gas water heaters are riskier and not very safe to keep on for a long time. They are more prone to accidents than electric water heaters. These water heaters are also costlier to buy because they provide a better service and last longer.
Gas water heaters are not situated in our typical bathrooms. They are usually placed in the basement or there is a different room for it. These water heaters need to be refueled after a while making it harder to put it in our house. The worker can easily come and refuel it. You cannot refuel it yourself because it posses great danger and requires expertise in doing it. It also requires some tools to refuel. But the demand for these is lower because of the risk they possess. They possess the risk of blasting because of the LPG gas it has. They have the same risk as a gas cylinder used in our household. the difference is, they contain more gas and heat the water using more gas.
Some gas water heaters on Amazon and Flipkart:
A.O.Smith Water Heater
Rheem Water Heater
GE GeoSpring Water Heater.
Bosch Water Heater.
Centralized water heaters
These types of water heaters are useful for apartment buildings providing hot water service 24/7. This is also useful for hotels that provide hot water. These water heaters are located on the top of the building and the person using the shower has to turn the hot water on and he will receive it. The wait time is very short and hot water is available all the time. These types cannot be used is a house because the running cost for the heater is very high and the risk is also significant. You also need a person to maintain the heater all the time. These water heaters are installed during the construction of the building and they need a regular inspection in order to ensure nothing happens.
The price range varies according to the size and brand used. These heaters work on the same concept as a centralized air conditioner. Pipelines are installed in the whole building and every area gets a separate control system. It also has a master control system that takes care of everything. an expert of a centralized heating system is placed to regulate the system and look it for overheating. If overheating does happen, the system can be shut down immediately. The prices start from 1.5 lakhs and can go up to 50 lakhs.
Tankless heaters
Tankless water heaters are also known as a continuous flow, inline, flash, on-demand, or instant-on water heaters. They are gaining popularity because of the convenience they provide. These are very high powered water heaters and they heat the water as it is passing through the device. They are instant and provide water on the touch of a button. These water heaters may have more than one point of use.
These water heaters are very useful in houses because they provide instant water and the supply continues. This function is not available in closed tank water heaters. They have a major drawback that they have a higher cost. So is you don’t mind the wait then I would suggest you use tank water heaters only. The tankless water heater also uses more electricity.
Electric shower heads
Electric shower heads are the cheapest and hence the riskiest water heating device. They use an electric heating coil that heats the water quickly. These mostly used in villages and use very little electricity. They are very cheap but the risk of electric shock is very high in electric showerheads. A flow switch turns on the device when water flows through it. Once the water is stopped, the device turns off automatically. They have a very easy mechanism and are very easy to use. These are preferred by bachelors living alone or with roommates. Due to its low price, it attracts an audience that does not have that much money to spend on water heaters. I would not recommend this device if you are a family person.
They possess danger and easily give us an electric shock if not used carefully. These devices are to be kept away from children because if you touch the coil or put your hand in the water when the coil is in there, you can get hurt very easily. An electric shower uses a lot of energy even more than a dryer or a washer and thus it requires a lot of planning. You have to get a professional electrician in order to fit it carefully and the main power supply is connected to a power switch or directly to the main DP. A poorly installed system with old aluminum wires or bad connections may be dangerous, as the wires can overheat or electric current may leak via the water stream through the body of the user to earth.
Companies that sell electric shower heads on Amazon are:
Captolife
Volbit
GNEY
Tormeti
Shopizone
Jecrina
Solar water heaters
These are the most economical and environmentally friendly water heaters out of all. Solar water heaters create heat with the help of solar panels and the energy of the Sun. They require solar panels that are installed on the roof normally. These water heaters can be used in a house as well as an apartment building and ima hotel. They are environment friendly and are one of the safest ways to use. They are a bit costlier in comparison to others but you do not need a very high running cost.
The running cost is very low in comparison to electric or gas. These water heaters take the energy of Sun rays through solar panels and heat the water. They do not need to be refueled at all. The solar panels need to be cleaned on a regular basis but that does not require an expert and can be done by anyone. All it needs a cloth and some cleaning agents. There are mainly two types of water heaters:
Integrated collector storage
These types of solar water heaters are the most basic type. These are placed on rooftops and water flows through them directly. The water is then heated by the solar panels and is stored in a tank above the solar panel. These are the most basic type of water heaters in terms of solar water heaters. But these types of solar heaters a bit risky. They do not have a regulator to control how heated the water should be.
They have a high risk of heating the water too much when the Sun is shinning too hard. Manual operations are required to set the temperature as per the needs to control the heating of water. These types of solar water heaters are too risky to use in domestic household and hence is used in industries mostly.
Closed loop system
These systems are a bit more complex and are safer to use. These systems use a liquid, either water or an anti-freezing agent, that flows through the panels. The liquid is then heated through the panels and then transferred to a tank that contains the water that is to be used. The liquid is then mixed with the water and the water becomes heated. This process is repeated until the water contained in the water heater is heated to the desired temperature. The process sounds very long but is shorter than our electric water heaters.
The hot water is stored in a tank and the liquid is contained with it to keep the water hot at all times. These should be installed by a professional only and if some technical problem is faced, you should contact your installing company only and not try to solve it yourself.