Heating of water is considered the second largest cost of energy next to heat/air conditioning systems in the home and whether your home uses electricity, gas, or liquid propane gas, water heaters are designed to help you meet the hot water demands of your household. Water heaters are gas, oil or electric-fired devices that heat water for residential or commercial use with gas heaters tending to be more common for larger flow rates.
The function of the water heater is to raise the temperature of water and They come in a variety of sizes for different applications, such as a whole-house water heater, a hot water source for a remote bathroom or hot tub, or as a boiler to provide hot water for a home heating system. Energy is transferred into the body of water in the heater just as if someone put a flame beneath a pan of water on a stove.
In this modern day of advanced and advancing technology, ways have been devised to draw energy from natural gas to power water heaters. Other designs of the water heater make use of organic materials like propane or electricity. Due to the abundance of the resource, natural gas beats out the likes of electricity and propane at cost price with respect to the output of heated water.
Gas is burned and releases heat that passes through the burner under the tank of the water heater and eventually warms the water. The wall holds a valve that opens and shuts to control the flow of gas into the water heater. Devising a means by which the temperature in a heater is controlled by the aid of a thermostat was a good idea of the manufacturers.
The heating element receives its initial light from a pilot. Gas grills are ignited in much the same way. A venting system collects used up and harmful gas emissions to be expelled. The actual exhaust pipe of the venting system is the PVC pipe located in the roof of the heater.
Thanks to technology, fan-assisted vents now exist for blowing air into the vent which both cools and forces toxic emissions out through a channel in the wall. Connected to the water heater is also a pipe for supplying cold water. One important thing to note is the way heated water flows from the cylindrical tank of the heater through the piping and via faucets to the appliances in which it is used.
Some tanks actually do not have a water storage system. Due to the absence of a tank, the water has to be run through several burners continuously until it is needed for its final application. Gas water heaters that do not have tanks work in a slightly different way from those with tanks.
Being unable to store water, they simply cycle it repeatedly, and supply it at any time needed. More than the regular gas water heater, a tankless version is able to deliver more hot water for less fuel pumped into it. The design of this prototype depends on the opening of the faucet to begin heating. If you are looking for a heater that can hold water, do not get a tankless version. The function of the tankless heater is just to heat water and channel it to the final point of use via the faucet.
The first question, are we going to have enough hot water, is hard for anyone outside your immediate family to answer because so much depends on the number of people in your home, their ages and activities, and preferences for baths or showers.
There are, however, some rules of thumb about hot water heater capacity. For example, the majority of single-family homes in the United States built in the last 50 years were equipped with a single 40-gallon water heater. This fact alone indicates that any tank-type water heater with a capacity of less than 40-gallons would be inadequate to support an average family's lifestyle.
In more recent years, many homes have been equipped with 50-gallon water heaters. Some newly constructed homes, particularly those with one or two 50-gallon water heaters installed side by side and working in tandem.
Other factors may also influence the water heater's ability to provide an adequate supply of hot water. These include the condition of the tank's interior and, in the case of gas-fired heaters, the combustion efficiency of the burner. When we mention the condition of the tanks interior, we are talking about mineral deposits. Specifically, as mineral deposits increase, heating efficiency decreases. Minerals can line the interior of the tank or, if the water heater is electric-powered, minerals can encrust the exterior of the heating elements.
To keep your water heater running efficiently, we recommend regular and frequent flushing of the heater. This step can be accomplished by rapidly opening and closing the drain valve. How often this should be done depends on the mineral content of your water. At a minimum, the bottom of each tank should be flushed every other month. In summary, the buildup of minerals is often the culprit behind the shortened life of a home water heater.
To return to the original question, having enough hot water for your family will depend on the size of the water heater. Only you can determine the right size of water heater for your family.
The second question of how long a water heater will last is somewhat easier to answer than the question of whether your family will have enough hot water. On a nationwide basis, water heaters tend to last an average of eight to twelve years. Still, several factors influence the service life of any given heater. In contrast, a few areas of the country have water with such high mineral content that water heaters last only around three years.
Water heaters usually find their way to the landfill by springing a leak from the tank. Leaks typically occur where the tank has rusted through. However, if the water has mineral content, deposits on the bottom of the tank keep the heat of the flame from being transferred through the shell and into the tank. This condition results in overheating the tank bottom, causing the metal to fatigue and, ultimately will fail. The result is a large puddle on the floor surrounding the water heater. To summarize, a water heater can fail because the tank has rusted through or because the bottom gave way from metal fatigue. A water heater will not last forever, but by maintaining it and treating the water, if necessary, it can provide an ample supply of hot water and have a long life.
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