The purchase and installation of the best hot water system guarantees year-round availability of hot water, so more and more such units are purchased by both apartment owners and private houses. Domestic water heaters are also successfully used in small offices, hotels, hostels, and other institutions.
To buy a water heater with optimal characteristics for your purposes, you need to decide on several basic parameters:
- Type of energy carrier: a water heater can be gas, electric, combined, or operate on other alternative energy sources;
- Water heating method – flow-through or storage unit;
- The capacity of the hot water tank;
- The required amount of gas hot water.
First of all, you should decide for what purpose you need a water heater: for a year-round supply of hot water or as a backup system for the duration of the shutdown of water in an apartment or house.
Gas or Electric Water Heater: Which One to Choose?
If the main gas is supplied to the house, then you can use an instant gas hot water system, which is economical in operation. But the installation of such a unit requires compliance with many technical conditions, and the cost of a gas water heater is higher in comparison with an electric analog. In addition, when installing a gas column, you need to equip ventilation, bring gas pipes, and obtain permission for installation.
Therefore, more and more often, consumers choose electric models of water heaters that:
- Do not require an installation permit;
- Relatively easy to install;
- Can be located in any room where there is a source of electricity.
For the installation of low-power electric water heaters (up to 12 kW), a single-phase connection can be used, and for more powerful devices, a three-phase connection. Although this option is more expensive to operate than a gas water heater, comfort is worth paying for.
Instantaneous Water Heaters
An instantaneous water heater is a compact unit that can instantly heat water in any quantity. Rapid heating of water to a temperature of 45-60 degrees is possible due to the high power of the heating element.
Note! An instantaneous water heater is not able to provide several points of water intake with warm water at the same time.
Features of flow-through units:
- Compact size and lightweight, which allows you to place the device in a sanitary cabinet, under a sink, etc;
- High power (3–27 kW), for instantaneous water heaters of high power, separate wiring with the appropriate cross-section is required;
- Turn on automatically and turn off when the tap is closed.
A household instantaneous water heater is suitable for apartments where an electric stove is provided. And for country houses and summer cottages, such a unit can be used if the power of the electrical network allows.
Storage Water Heaters
Boiler (storage units) are capable of heating water up to 50-75 degrees, and then automatically maintain the temperature. Such devices are characterized by gradual heating, so they usually do not require a lot of power from the mains and can be connected to a regular outlet.
