Tank Water Heaters vs. Tankless Hot Water Heaters

Another significant element to consider is whether you want a water heater with a tank or a tankless one. Tankless water heaters are rapidly growing in popularity, largely because of their energy efficiency. To a great extent, this added efficiency comes from the fact that they don’t hold hot water in reserve like traditional tank water heaters do.

Instead, tankless water heaters heat the water rapidly by running it through a set of heating elements once you turn on the tap. This doesn’t cause much of a delay in getting the hot water to you and means that you don’t have to pay to keep that tank of hot water sitting there until you need to use it. However, tankless hot water heaters may have trouble keeping up with the demands of a large household where multiple people may be trying to use the hot water at the same time.

Traditional tank water heaters do require energy to keep the water in reserve hot the entire time, whether you’re using it or not. They also take up more space than a tankless model. But if they’re big enough, they can handle a large and diverse hot water demand at once, so if you have a large household, this may be something you should take into account.