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Home > Reviewing Hot Water Heaters

Hot Water Heater Reviews

Reviewing tank, tankless, gas, electric, solar...
water heating

tempra electric tankless water heater review

stiebel eltron solar storage tank water heater

This article covers hot water heater reviews in general, review of tankless water heater, tank, gas, electric and solar to RV and marine heater reviews, helping you to select the right residential water heating system and for the right application.

This water heater review is helpful as it leads you through many factors you should consider when buying a new water heater or switching the energy source for your home use, like from electrical or oil powered unit to the natural gas.

Hot Water Heater Reviews - How to select and buy water heater

Water heater reviews article features the important factors that will determine what kind of heater you can choose:

Fuel source - review and select the type of fuel source you can/want to use and the fuel price. We think that natural gas is the best option, if it is available, over electrical or oil fired heaters. Solar energy is free energy but this technology brings lots of obstacles. We will review solar heating also.

Price and operating costs - determines will you buy economy, high efficiency or the latest technology heaters, like condensing. We have reviewed many, so our recommendation is to focus on the Energy Star products, as you will take advantage of government grants and save on the long run. Since they are using green technology you will participate in the environment protection.

Size of the water heater - point-of-use is small, tankless are medium size, storage or water tank heaters are big. After reading reviews by thousands of customers and dealing with many users, our conclusion is that tankless or on demand water heaters are getting more and more on popularity over standard tank type units.

Quality - with higher quality you have a longer life of heaters, better technology, higher performance and efficiency, fancier look, and sometimes longer warranty, but they are more expensive.

Favorite brand - do you have a favorite brand, or you are selecting one with the best reviews: Rheem, A O Smith, Bradford White, Rinnai, Polaris, Bosch, GE, Kenmore...

Repair cost and parts availability - popular brands usually have better service network and available parts than less-known manufacturers.

Available features - what are the benefits of the heater's features and are these components user friendly, easy to replace and troubleshoot.

We will try to cover all the above factors in our review and report so you can find the best heater for your needs.

Water Heater Reviews Tip: After home heating and cooling, water heating is the next largest energy user. If you can use more than one fuel type it is a good idea to compare what will be your annual fuel cost, installation, repair, problems...

Water Heater Reviews based on Fuel Source

Gas Water Heaters Reviews

Gas heaters can use both natural gas and propane gas or LP. Gas appliances are the good choice where this energy is available and since gas units are the most energy efficient systems. You can choose between tank and tankless models. To know how much hot water it can produce, look at heaters' specification and the gas input in BTU per hour.

Electric Heater Reviews

Electric Water Heaters Reviews are recommended if electricity is your only fuel source option (excluding oil). Even with higher energy factor than gas burning units they are more expensive on the long run. They are the good solution as the point of use heaters and heat pumps.

Solar Heater Reviews

Solar Water Heaters are using very simple system, where free solar energy is used for heating. On the long run, using this renewable and cost-free energy, solar heaters can be a great life long investment.

Oil Fired Water Heaters Reviews

Oil fired units are becoming less-popular systems for residential, home usage, especially with the increased availability of gas and other green technology systems. Oil fired models are also more expensive to install than gas and they last less.

Wood Burning Water Heater Reviews

Wood fired heaters and wood furnaces are the heating appliances that are using wood as the energy source, for cooking, home heating and water preparation.

Water Heater Reviews based on the Size and Technology

Tankless Water Heaters Reviews

Tankless usually called on demand water heaters are not using tank. They heat water when needed while reducing energy consumption and your bill at the same time. They last longer than conventional storage tank heaters and they are more environment friendly.

Storage or Water Tank Heaters Reviews

Water tank heaters for home use are the most popular of all heating systems. Hot water is always ready for usage, and even if you are away, heater is keeping the hot water available.

Electric Heat Pump Reviews

Electric heat pump water heater system is an inexpensive way of heating that uses electricity to extract heat from the air, move heat from one place to another, for high efficient hot water production.

Water Heater Reviews - Other types

High Efficiency Water Heaters Reviews

Main reasons of using high efficiency units are to maximize the energy, provide better performance and reduce costs. You will recognize them as they carry Energy Star sign, an international symbol for energy efficiency.

Condensing Water Heaters Reviews

Condensing appliances are energy efficient systems, with only <10% energy loss (storage tank units are with 40% loss), using also the heat energy from the flue gases. As they require professional installation and regular service, they are found more expensive. They are especially popular in Europe (Vaillant, Buderus, Junkers).

RV Heater Reviews

RV water heaters are mainly using propane gas and 120 V AC. Depending on the size of your RV the most common are 6 gallon and 10 gallon tanks. They are easy to operate, maintain, and most important they are reliable. The most popular brands are Atwood and Suburban.

Indirect Water Heaters Reviews

If you already have a furnace or boiler with a burner, just combining it with a high efficient storage tank, you can have a very efficient system for heating. These systems are usually called indirect hot water heaters.

Direct Vent Reviews

Direct vent water heaters are ideal if planning a gas unit but don't have a proper ventilation to the outside, through the chimney. It has a built-in venting system that brings the air in and forces the fumes out but without using the electric powered blower.

Power Vent Units Reviews

Power vent unit is similar to the direct vent models, but it uses an electrically operated powered vent (blower) for the assistance to mechanically exhaust the combustion gases to the outside.

Tankless Coil Water Heater Reviews

Tankless coil doesn't use any storage tank for the heating as the water is heated directly inside the boiler. It is usually used for home's space heating and with an option to heat the water. These units are the most efficient during colder months when it is used for space heating, but less efficient during warmer months as the boiler is used less frequently.

Marine Heater Reviews

Reviews of the top marine hot water heaters manufacturers, like Atwood, Isotemp, Webasto, Torrid and others. Products are meant for boaters and sailors to enjoy showering and small jobs where hot water is needed.

Point of use water heater is a small heater, designed as the mini storage tank or tankless unit, used for water heating at the point of service, often installed under the kitchen sink. These heating units are very popular in residential applications as they provide instant hot water, without taking up a lot of space.

If you are looking for water heater reviews by brands, their details, features, types and ratings you can find them by clicking on the respective links on the navigation bar or searching for heaters by manufacturers.

The most popular brands like Rheem, A O Smith, Bradford White, Bosch, Rinnai and other are located on the navigation bar.