Getting The Most From Your Water Heater

If yours is a typical family, daylight brings about a multitude of showerers and bathers preparing for the business day, child and home care day, and school day. Invariably, this entails a lot hot water hogging while various family members stand outside the bathroom doors shouting “Hurry up! I’m late!” Financial-conscious fathers mutter “What’s she doing? I could have bathed a baby elephant with that much water.” Woe to the last person in the bathroom line; he or she is the most susceptible to having to make do with a barely-tepid hasty dowsing. Showers, shampoos, baby baths, make-up applications, hair styling, even coffee-making all involve the strenuous use of the family home’s water heater. Thus, the water heater’s gallon capacity and the rapidity of its ability to heat much-needed water are of serious priority. Consider: even after family members depart for school or work, stay-out-home spouses still have laundry to do, dishwashers to fill, and floors to mop. Again, the water heater’s dependability and capacity is sorely tested. By the end of the day, when dinner dishes are washed, baby is bathed, and faces are washed, your water heater is the un-noticed hero; when you turn on the hot water faucet, you usually get what you expect and only notice this appliance when it’s not working.

What Kind Of Water Heater Is Best For Me?

That depends. If you and your partner are the only ones in the home, you will likely do well with a smaller water heater that has “instant demand” capability. This means that the heater turns cold water into hot water very rapidly. These water heaters need to be fairly small – around 20 gallons – to heat up quickly.

However, a family of four will do much better with a water heater with a capacity of 50-60 gallons to meet the morning, daytime, and evening needs of personal hygiene, cooking and cleaning. Once the hot water supply is depleted, it usually takes about an hour for the hot water to appear in your faucets.

Expense is another thing to consider when purchasing a water heater for your home. You can buy a good-quality heater for $300-700 depending upon how many gallons you require to meet the needs of your family and whether you also purchase a warranty (recommended).

Finally, your water heater uses a variety of heat sources; natural gas, electricity, even solar power. With electric heaters you don’t have be concerned about losing the pilot light as with gas heaters, nor does your hot water availability depend upon the strength of the sun. Electric water heaters are a bit more expensive; you pay extra for the assurance that barring an electrical failure, your family’s needs for baths, showers and clean dishes is assured.

Gas Heater – The Heart Of The Sauna Bath

When you are having a sauna bath, I doubt you ever think of what makes it so pleasurably hot. This article will actually take you to the nitty-gritty of this type of bath. The water is normally heated by infrared heaters if you are talking about the modern sauna bath available. However, it is not uncommon to find that the water is heated by gas heaters. This is exceptionally good when you need to keep a close tab in the heat of the water.

The Versatility Of The Gas Heaters Vs The Infrared And Electric Heaters

There many times when we want to enjoy the bath without worrying about what temperature it will rise at. Of course, the modern life has brought about the automatic cut-off of heat in many instances. However, ordinarily speaking, the cut-off is usually more focused when gas heaters are used. This is because you can reduce and even put off the gas heaters at will, while the other sources of heat have more latency in diminishing the ensuing heat.

Though ‘old-fashioned’ when compared to the other techniques available, many people prefer their sauna baths to be warned up by gas heaters, even today. This is mainly because this process has absolutely no complications at all. The cost for it is much lower that its counterparts and the results are better. Those who use the gas heaters will proudly maintain that it is very much possible for them to monitor and balance the heat of the water at exactly the temperature they like. The other methods do not permit so much freedom, in spite of these being far more expensive.

In the end, it actually boils down to personal preferences. Though some people enjoy having the latest technology used for their sauna baths, it is not surprising to find that many prefer to use the old-style gas heaters to the infrared or electric heaters, because of the better control they have on it, and the excellent results it gives.

Another very important factor is the cost. The cost has always been a factor in the choice of personal necessities. Here, the cost does indeed make a vast difference, and hence makes for a good motivation factor. The bottom line however, and the deciding factor is that with the gas heater, it is extremely easy to control the heat. This is why people still have it on the ‘favorite’ list.

The Many Functions Of Electric Heaters

The first thing most people think of when you mention electric heaters is a household furnace that provides warm, circulating air throughout the house via a series of ducts and vents.

Using electric energy for structure-heating purposes is commonplace both in residences and in public buildings. However, heaters of this sort are more expensive than an energy source consisting of the combustion of sort of fuel like natural gas. But for most consumers – business or household- electric heaters make up for their higher price tag by providing convenience, cleanliness and reduced space needs as compared to fuel-burning heat sources.

How Do Electrical Heaters Work?

The warmth from an electric heater comes from electric coils or strips configured in diverse patterns. For example, heat conductors (vents) can be placed in or on walls, under windows, or as baseboard radiation in all or only part of a room. Heating elements can even be contained in ceilings or floors to radiate low-temperature heat into a specific space. In fact, many homes built after 2000 contain innovative floor heating, especially in homes located in colder climates. The heating elements are built under the flooring. Warm tile and wood floors feel wonderful on bare feet when the early morning temperature is frigid! This type of electric heater can even radiate its warmth under carpeting. Real estate agents recognize that this new type of home electric heaters is an innovation whose time has come, and is no more expensive than traditional baseboard heat, common in the New England area.

Are There Other Types Of Electric Heaters?

Homes that lack central heating systems may be equipped with portable electric heaters. Commonly called “space heaters,” these devices can be both blessings and curses, depending upon the degree of your care in using them. The advantage of portable electric heaters is that they can be moved from room to room, and heat only the area that you’re in at the time. These devices range in power from “high heat” created by more numerous power coils, and “low heat” derived from fewer, less potent coils. When used wisely, this type of heater can warm cold feet in a poorly heated work environment or, on high heat, can create sufficient warmth in a small room. Keep in mind that unattended electric space heaters are second only to cigarettes major fire hazards. Make sure your unit has an automatic “cut off” function if the heater is tipped over. Never leave an electric space heater unattended for any reason! Your life may depend upon your vigilance.