Tankless Vs Tank water heater in 2022 – Complete Guide

Tankless Vs tank water heater has been an extremely debatable topic that people find themselves stuck with when buying a water heater. Especially if you like your hot water showers. The solution to this argument is determined by which option is best suitable for your needs. So, today we will compare tankless vs tank water heaters in 2022 to make the decision based on your needs. 

Let’s do some camparision of Tankless Vs Tank water heater

1. Hot water supply

The first difference that you need to look at is the hot water supply, as the reason you have bought a tankless or a tank water heater is that you want hot water.

  • Total Supply

A tankless water heater works on on-demand functionality, meaning it doesn’t store water but heat the water as you demand it by opening the tap. So what it does is that it heats the freshwater for which it needs only a few seconds and delivers it to you hence an endless supply. On the other hand, a tank water heater has a capacity of 30-50 gallons of hot water. Once it is used up, it can take the tank water heater 30-45 minutes to heat the freshwater stored in the tank.

  • Hot water fluctuations

In the tankless water heater, you can face hot water fluctuation from time to time. It is because tankless water heaters have a maximum and minimum water is drawn limit. if you draw water exceeding the capacity, it makes it harder for the tankless unit to heat all the water.  In contrast, if the drawn water is less than the lower limit, the flow sensor in the tankless turns off the tankless unit to protect it from damage due to heat exchanger overloading. How much should be the minimum flow rate can be found through the image below.

Tankless Vs Tank water heater
Tankless Vs Tank water heater

This is not the problem with the tank water heater. You always get a continuous flow of hot water until the tank is empty.

2. Tankless vs tank water heater Cost

The price gap between tankless and tank water heaters is the most common and pressing worry among consumers.  This difference is not tiny as tankless can be 2-3 times more expensive than tank water heater sometimes, even more, depending on the unit size.

1.      Unit cost

  • Unit Cost

If we look at the price of a water heater unit, we can see that it is quite expensive. Compared to tankless water heaters, a tank water heater is considerably less costly. The price of a tank water heater lies in the range of $300 – $1500. While the cost of the tankless starts from $750 – $4000 and above. The higher the capacity (GPM) of tankless units higher is the price.

  • Installation cost

Similar to the unit cost, a tankless water heater’s installation cost is greater than that of a tank water heater. As the tankless units are more sensitive to gas, electric, and water supply, they need a sufficient quantity of gas, electricity, and water at all times. In case they don’t receive it, they will stop working until they get an adequate supply. That’s why at the time of installation, you need to install vents and bigger pipes for a gas tankless water heater, while for an electric tankless water heater, you need to upgrade your circuit to match the tankless needs. These installations increase the tankless price.

On the other hand, you don’t need to install a tank water heater like the tankless water heater.

  • Maintenance cost

Tankless units being more sensitive than traditional water heaters, require regular maintenance(at least once a year, depending on hard water in your locality) to function correctly. To such an extent, some tankless water heater comes with the cause that tankless failure due to non-maintenance can void the warranty. But as the process is easy, you can also do it yourself and save the plumbing cost.

3. Energy efficient

Let’s compare the tankless Vs tank water heater on the basis of energy efficiency. It is seen that the tankless water heater is 8-35% more efficient than a traditional tank water heater.

  • Operate when

Tankless water heaters are more efficient than tanks as they only operate when you draw water from the tap as they don’t have a tank to hold and keep water hot. At other times, a tank water heater holds water and keeps switching on and off as water gets cold in them and keeps on heating the water, which utilizes energy on a longer span than a tankless water heater.

  • Saving

Water heaters constitute a large part of household energy consumption, as much as 17% of the total energy consumed. So, it is not wrong to say that you can save much money if you have a more efficient tankless water heater.

4. Lifespan

Tankless water heaters have double the life span of traditional tank water heaters. A tank water heater typically has a lifetime of 6-12 years, whereas a tankless water heater typically has a lifespan of 15-20 years. So, a tankless unit will last twice as much as a tank water heater if adequately cared about.

5. Maintenance

Although you may have heard the myth that a tankless water heater is maintenance-free, it is not true. In reality, tankless water heaters are more sensitive than traditional water heaters. So they are more prone to end up in trouble if they are not taken care of properly. That’s why it is suggested that your flush/clean your tankless water heater once a year for efficient performance and a longer lifespan.

6. Installing

At the time of installation, tankless require that you upgrade your gas and water pipes and electric circuit to function correctly, while this is not the case with tank water heaters.

7. Dimensions and safety

This characteristic is often cited as the reason why people consider moving from a tank water heater to a tankless water heater. A tankless water heater is compact, approximately the size of a suitcase, and may be mounted indoors or outside. You can not do so with tank units as they take much space. Moreover, traditional tanks also risk flooding, which can be a severe problem if your tank water heater is indoors and hot water can cause burns.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a tank or tankless water heater better?

Other than a tankless water heater’s colossal cost, tankless is much better than a tank water heater. They are a luxury item that can give you the luxury of endless water supply, savings due to energy efficiency, and a lifespan that is double that of a tank water heater if adequately taken cared of.

Do you save money with a tankless water heater?

Yes, a tankless water heater can save you a lot of money but in the long term. A tankless water heater has a high upfront cost that can be 2-3 times the tank water heater. So, based on gas tankless water heater savings of around $80-$200 per annum and tankless electric savings of $50-$130 per annum, you would need approximately 8-12 years of saving to recover your cost, after which you can enjoy the pure savings.

Why would someone use a tankless water heater instead of a conventional one?

The answer to it lies in people’s need for hot water. If you need a lot of hot water daily, then the tank water heater may not be able to keep up with your needs while a tankless water heater gives you an endless supply. Similarly, there is no need to be afraid of leaks and flooding in the tankless water heater.

Conclusion

You have likely to find your answer by reading the above article on tankless vs tank water heaters in 2022. If not, then let us make it easy for you to know is a tankless worthy investment for you or not. Ask yourself the following assessment questions.

  1. Do you have enough spare money to buy a tankless water heater or not?
  2. Do you require a lot of hot water daily?
  3. How long are you going to stay in this house? (is it as long as unit lifespan)
  4. Do you have previous experience with a tank water heater? How was it?
  5. Do you want the luxury of the tankless or economic benefit of a tank water heater?
  6. For what maximum capacity should I buy a tankless or tank water heater?

To buy which rests on you, you must be certain of what you want because it is your choice. After deciding on these, you should get a complete understanding of the unit before you buy it.


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Emma Johnson
By Emma Johnson

Hi, This is Emma. Author at “BestHeaterGuide.com”. I am a graduate of Mechanical Engineering. Currently researching on heating technology. However, I have learned many home heating techniques and still learning home heating technology. And I love to share my research and reviews.

One response to “Tankless Vs Tank water heater in 2022 – Complete Guide”

  1. The lifespan of a tankless water heater is definitely something I want to make use of for myself. An appliance lasting that long usually means that we’ll be able to make use of the convenience it gives us for an extremely long time here, thus saving us a lot of money. If I can find a plumber in the area that can provide us some units like these, I’ll hire them right away.

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