With so many choices and types of water heaters available, choosing the right one for your Abbotsford or Mission home can be a difficult decision. You want to ensure that it will not only supply enough hot water for you and your family, but do so efficiently to stay affordable with rising energy costs.

Types of Water Heaters

The two common options for Water Heaters in Abbotsford and Mission are:

  • Conventional Tank Water Heaters
  • Tankless or On-Demand Water Heaters

There are other options available such as solar water heaters, or heat pump options, but Abbotsford and Mission weather don’t really allow for great solar options, and Heat Pump water heaters require high year round temperatures.

How to Choose the Right Water Heater

There are some important considerations one must make when choosing the right water heater. These considerations are:

  • Fuel type
  • Tank or Tankless

Fuel Type

The most common types of fuel for hot water heaters are electricity or natural gas. Choosing between electric and gas may come down to what is already installed. In Abbotsford and Mission areas, gas tends to have much cheaper operating costs compared to electricity, and if a gas line is available, and venting already installed, gas may be a better option.

Conventional or Tankless

Hot water tanks or conventional hot water heaters are the most common type. They are a large tank that store the heated water at all times, keeping it set to the desired temperature. The capacity of the tank can be anywhere from 2 to 60 gallons. One advantage of conventional heaters are the lower up-front costs.

Tankless water heaters function by heating the water on demand, and do not store any hot water. They are more environmentally friendly, as they tend to consume less energy than conventional tanks. They also take up less space. They tend to have higher initial costs, but cost less to operate over time.

Choosing between these two types of water heaters is difficult and may come down to budget at the time, as well as what your space is already setup to handle. You may also have to consider capacity, as a household with many people using hot water at the same time would require a large capacity conventional tank, or high gallon per minute tankless to keep up with demand. Whichever you go with, make sure you have a professional install it for you, and keep it well-maintained.