Water Heater

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Having a water heater installed in your home is an essential for maintaining a readily available supply of hot water for consumption. What some homeowners may not know, however, is that a variety of water heater technology exists to suit various needs. This can range from the amount of time required to heat the water, to the efficiency and type of energy used by the unit. We at Green Air feel that it is important for our clients to be aware of all available options to decide upon the technology that best meets your specific needs within your available budget. Please give us a call or submit an estimate scheduling request today, and we will find a water heating solution that works best for you.

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Section Contents
- Storage Water Heater
- Tankless Water Heater
- Hybrid Water Heater

Storage Water Heater

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Most water heaters in the United States are of the tank type (often referred to as storage water heaters), and are used for both residential and commercial applications. These tanks take the form of a cylindrical container, where water is continuously heated to be made readily available. Storage water heaters may use a variety of energy sources, including solar thermal, natural gas, electricity, propane, and heating oil.

The advantage of the storage water heater lies in its relatively slow rate of energy consumption, while storing the heat for later use. As the most prevalent type of water heater nationwide, they also carry the benefit of a low unit cost in comparison to competing technologies. However, due to the storage nature of this type of heater, heat will eventually escape from the unit, thus cooling the water and causing the heating system to activate to reheat the water. As a result, the insulation used in the unit design plays a crucial role in reducing the leakage of heat and minimizing the amount of energy used to keep the water hot. Furthermore, once the supply of hot water has been exhausted, a significant amount of time must pass to restore its availability.

If the storage water heater suits your needs, and you are uncertain what brand and model you would like to have installed, our experienced Green Air representatives will aid you in the selection process for a unit that will maximize performance for your dollar.

Tankless Water Heater

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While currently not as commonplace as storage water heaters, tankless water heaters are quickly gaining popularity in a variety of homes. These heaters typically take on a box-like form factor and produce hot water on-demand. Like storage water heates, tankless water heaters may use a variety of energy sources, including solar thermal, natural gas, and electricity. However, unlike storage technology, tankless water heaters do not retain any water, except that which lies within the heat exchanger coil, and instantly heat water as it flows through the device.

The primary advantage to the tankless water heater is realized in the form of energy savings, since energy is consumed only when hot water is needed, rather than continuously throughout the day. This circumvents the issue of heat dissipation and removes insulation as a variable to performance. Another advantage lies in the unit’s form factor, since it requires less physical space and can be mounted on a wall or within a building’s internal structure. This affords the technology greater versatility and lends itself to a wide variety of applications. Nevertheless, tankless technology also carries some disadvtanges, such as a higher installation cost and a greater start-up delay to obtain hot water.

Depending on your requirements, a tankless water heater may very well fulfill all of your water heating needs. If you have any questions and are considering a tankless system, a Green Air representative will provide any additional information on tankless water heating technology and aid you at every step of the selection process.

Hybrid Water Heater

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A hybrid water heater utilizes design traits from both storage and tankless water heater technology. Through this combination, the hybrid water heater is able to address the shortcomings of the individual technologies, and can be activated either by thermostat or the presence of flow. Hybrids incorporate small storage tanks for tempering cold water, thus requiring the unit to increase water temperature from warm to hot. As a result, the unit only occupies a small amount of additional physical space, while producing on-demand hot water at a significantly faster rate than tankless technology alone would permit.

As a combination of storage and tankless technology, a hybrid water heater will take on the characteristics of its respective constituents, depending on the rate of flow. During low-flow consumption, the hybrid behaves like a storage water heater, while minimizing standby fuel expense due to the small storage volume. In this situation, the unit is activated by thermomstat. During high-flow consumption, the hybrid behaves more like a tankless water heater, with high heating capacity and activation by flow rate.

If the hybrid water heater suits your usage requirements, and you are ready to replace your existing water heater with a unit that acts as an efficient design compromise, then please contact us today. A Green Air representative will provide you with all of the information you need to make your water heating solution a worthy investment.