Water Heater Repair, Maintenance, and Installation

The most common water heater you’ll find is the tank type water heater. This is the type you’re probably most used to seeing in closets or utility rooms. They have a large tank that can hold 30 to 50 gallons of water. How do they work? Heating elements warm up a tank full of stored water and hold it until it’s needed. As water empties out of the tank, it refills with cold water and gets warmed again. Easy peasy. These units offer the easiest installation at the cheapest prices and they work well with both gas and electric power systems. However, they only last around 10 years. Another major downside is that if the tank leaks, your house could be flooded with gallons of water. 

The tankless water heater is a newer technology that’s becoming very popular. Unlike the tank type water heater, this unit instantly heats water as it flows through it, so it doesn’t need a tank to store water. Tankless water heaters never run out of hot water or have leaking tanks. They also take up a lot less room and can even be installed on your home’s exterior. Though they cost more, they pay for themselves by lasting 10-15 years longer than the tank style. 

But tankless water heaters do have some drawbacks. Sometimes they can’t meet a large demand, like when two people are showering at the same time. Our professional recommendation for this scenario: Rock, paper, scissors. You should also keep in mind that these units aren’t recommended for electric power supply. Installation can get pretty pricey because these require different gas piping and electric wiring compared to the tank style models.

Now if the two water heaters above fell in love and had a baby, this bundle of joy would be the hybrid water heater. This new technology is also known as a heat pump water heater. It combines the best of tank style and tankless units. It pulls in heat from outside air to instantly heat water. Then during high-demand times, it switches to heating like a tank style water heater so it can provide a large volume of hot water at once. 

There are a few pros and cons of this cutting-edge love child. The hybrid water heater is energy efficient and always has enough hot water. One unique feature is that it can also cool a space that’s up to 700 square feet — like a garage or studio. Although hybrid water heaters are on the expensive side, they do last a very long time and save you money on energy costs. Some downsides are that hybrids only come in electric models, require specific placement (in places like garages or large closets), and they only work well in warm climates. So, while they’re not great for those in colder parts of the US, they’re a perfect for our fellow Austinites.