Electric Hot Water Heaters

If you’re in the market for a new hot water heater for your home, you’re probably aware that you have a huge range of different options to choose from—one of the more popular of which are electric heaters. Although gas, solar and hybrid heaters are also quite common and can be very effective, some consumers prefer electric hot water heaters for the fact that they are typically the least expensive option for one reason or another.

Of course, solar water heaters are obviously the cheapest to run—as they only require the heat from the sun to function—these systems rely on a steady source of sunlight, which can sometimes makes them unreliable. Electric water heaters on the other hand run off of your home’s electrical system and, as some of the newer models are super efficient, can be fairly cost effective to use.Types of Electric Hot Water Heaters: When most people think of a hot water heater, they imagine the standard tank type heater, where the hot water is stored until it’s needed. However, this is far from the only type of heater available today, and in fact many building experts consider them to be quite outdated, but still quite useful in certain situations. So, if you decided to go with electricity to heat up your water, your next step will be to decide which type of electric water heater you wish to use.•Storage Tank Water Heaters

Again, this is definitely the most commonly used type of water heater out there and probably what you will find in most homes. Although the electric versions of these heaters are still a decent option, most propane or natural gas models will cost much less to run. In addition, you’ll usually need a slightly larger storage tank for the electric models than you would with these other power sources. Nonetheless, the electric models are usually cheaper than the others to purchase, making it something of a tradeoff.

•Tankless Electric Hot Water Heaters

If your hot water needs are such that you typically don’t need to use it in more than one or two places in the home at a time, these new tankless type of heaters may be a good option for you. They take up much less space as the unit only consists of the small heater, but they do have some limitations in terms of how much hot water they can produce. These units heat up the water directly before it’s sent to the tap, eliminating the need for a storage tank but only allowing around 3-4 gallons of hot water per minute. Still, this should normally be plenty for most of your typical needs, such as showering, laundry or running the dishwasher, while they are also a good option for providing hot water to garages, workshops, and other out buildings due to their small size.

•Electric Heat Pump Water Heaters

One newer type of heater on the market is the electric heat pump unit, which uses a fan to pull in hot water from the surrounding air that is then used to heat up the water. Although these heaters also require the use of a storage tank, they can be much more efficient than your standard storage tank heaters. Still, there is one drawback—due to the need to draw in hot air, these heaters are really only effective in areas where the temperature stays between 32° and 100° Fahrenheit throughout the year. Nonetheless, if you live in an area with a mild climate like this, these heaters may be your best, most efficient option.