The Inefficient Conventional Tank Water Heater
Conventional tank heaters Unchanged For Years
Traditional electric or gas tank water heaters have been used in commercial and residential properties since the early twentieth century. Conventional tank heaters use a simple heating element and tank technology that, with the exception of some fairly recent gains in the area of energy efficiency, have remained virtually unchanged over the last 25 years.
Bulky
Conventional tank heaters are bulky, prone to rusting and leaking, wasteful, have a short lifespan, and cost more than tankless water heaters. They are generally located in closets, utility rooms or garages, and they consume valuable square footage that could be put to better use.
Wasteful
Most Conventional tank heaters have upper and lower heating elements, one of which is cycling on or off 24 hours per day, even when you're not at home. This raises your heating bill, even when you aren't using water. Even worse, with a Conventional tank heater, you are heating water to a ridiculously high temperature and then adding cold water when you use it. How wasteful!
Conventional tank heaters are pre-set at temperatures that are so high, scalding is possible. When water reaches the tap, cold water must then be added so that the temperature is comfortable to the human touch. This process of heating water wastes valuable energy, not to mention water and money. When a hot water faucet is activated, the Conventional tank heater is replenishing the tank with cold water at the same time, lowering the overall water temperature in the tank. This triggers the element to draw more power to reheat the water to the desired set temperature.
Because of this inefficient process, a 60-gallon tank only has 45 gallons of useable hot water. The other 15 gallons are lost as cold water is added to the tank during the usage process.
In addition, a Conventional tank heater is constantly radiating heat (loss), which also contributes to the re-heating rate and energy consumption. This type of heat loss is often referred to as "stand-by" heat loss. By eliminating stand-by heat loss alone, energy consumption can be reduced from 20 to 30%.
Safety
Conventional tank heaters will leak unless top-grade materials such as copper or stainless steel are used. They last an average of two to nine years.