If you own a home, you have a hot water heater. According to The Appliance Standards Awareness Project, 48% of households typically use natural gas water heaters, 45% use electric hot water heaters, and 6% use propane or oil for heating their water. There are advantages and disadvantages to using these three common types of heaters. Let's discuss a few differences.

Performance

Oil-powered water heaters are generally faster at heating water than gas and electric water heaters. When comparing them, electric water heaters are the slowest. Oil-fired water heaters have the potential to retain larger quantities of hot water available at any given time. This makes them more suitable for large families that require a reliable supply of hot water for showers, cooking, or washing clothes. Oil-fired and gas water heaters can heat up a water tank in about an hour. These two types have recovery rates that are better and much faster than electric hot water heaters. Another advantage they have is that they can function in the event of power outages.

Efficiency

When it comes to hot water heater efficiency, you need to consider the model. For instance, new gas water heaters are very energy efficient. On the other hand, conventional gas units are generally inefficient due to the heat loss from the walls of the storage tank. These water heaters keep water hot at all times. However, this also means a lot of energy is used. Fortunately, modern units are becoming more efficient. They come insulated with foam to significantly boost energy efficiency. Electric water heaters are generally more efficient than gas units but less so than oil-fired water heaters. The only issue with oil-fired water heaters may be that maintaining them is a bit costly.

Cost

Oil-powered water heaters are more expensive than gas-powered and electric heaters. Their installation costs are also higher. You will also find that maintenance costs are higher than the other two systems. However, if you take good care of your system and run it well, you won't have to worry too much about high maintenance costs. It's also important to keep in mind that gas water heaters are more energy efficient than electric ones in some instances. The benefits may be canceled out by the higher cost of electricity. However, this also depends on the quality and age of the water heater.

An oil-powered hot water heater heats up water faster than any other system. However, as mentioned before, these systems can be quite expensive to install and maintain compared to gas-powered and electric water heaters. Do you need help with your hot water heater? Get in touch with Ultimate Plumbing, Heating & AC LLC today.