The Advantages of Using a Gas Water Heating System at Home

A water heating system keeps your home comfortable during the colder seasons. If you don’t have a home reliable heating system in place yet, one of the best options to consider is a gas water heater. Let’s take a look at how it works and the advantages it offers.

Gas Water Heating

Water heating is a process that uses an energy source to heat water to a preset temperature. In the case of gas water heating, the energy source is a gas furnace fuelled by natural gas or propane.

The job of a gas tank heater is not only to heat water but also to store it until it’s ready to use. The water supply routes cold water to the bottom of the tank through a dip tube. Meanwhile, a delivery pipe takes the heated water from the top of the tank. Every unit is equipped with insulation to keep water continuously hot in between heating cycles.

As a safety feature, all water heaters have a T&P (temperature-and-pressure relief) valve, which opens if either the water temperature or pressure exceeds a safe limit.

 Advantages

There are different types of gas heating systems, i.e. standard storage tank, high-efficiency storage tank models and tankless water heaters. No matter which kind you choose, they offer the following advantages in comparison to electric heaters.

• Fast heating. As opposed to electric hot water cylinders, gas water heaters work twice as fast. They recover much more quickly than electric models, which means your hot water supply is easily replenished. So if you have a larger household or high demand for hot water in your home, a gas heater is definitely a better option.
• Lower energy costs. A gas model suffers heat loss from exhaust gases and the walls of the tank, while electric heaters are more energy efficient. However, in terms of energy costs, gas heaters are more affordable to operate since natural gas and propane are significantly cheaper than electricity.

Gas water heaters cost more upfront than an electric system. But if you take into consideration the operations cost, gas heaters generally make up the difference in price in about a year. In other words, it saves you cash in the long run.

• Easy installation. Gas water heaters are typically easy to install, especially if you already have a gas line in your home.
• Cleaner water. Tankless gas water heaters boil and heats freshly piped water. An ordinary water heater heats water stored in a tank, which can rust and collect hard mineral deposits. When the tank becomes old, the quality of the water declines. Nevertheless, tankless water heaters tend to consume more energy than storage water heaters which use energy at a slower rate. Proper maintenance will solve any water quality issue with standard tank water heaters.

A great sum of your home’s energy costs go toward heating water, so it’s important to choose the right system to install in your home. If you want to know more about gas water heating systems, check out our gas fitting page or give us a call any time!