‘Tank for sure’: Experts weigh in on tank vs. tankless water heaters. Which do you need?
It might be the greatest debate in the plumbing world—tank or tankless water heaters. What's the best solution for your hot water needs?
The HVAC experts at British Columbia-based AirVantage Heating and Cooling (@_airvantage) fired up the debate back on Nov. 11 of last year. The techs all weighed in on their personal preference.
The video has now garnered over 1.2 million views, but the debate continues to rage on in the comments section.
What's the difference?
The difference between the two systems is right in the name. While tank heaters store hot water in a tank, tankless heaters work on demand, heating the water as needed.
It sounds simple, but each system has advantages and disadvantages.
For example, tank water heaters only hold a limited amount of water. When it runs out, you need to wait before enough hot water is available again.
On the other hand, while tankless heaters operate on demand as needed, they can be expensive and more complicated to maintain.
Tank or tankless water heaters?
When asked, "What's better—tank vs tankless?" the techs at Airvantage had a clear favorite.
"Probably tankless," the first tech said. "I've got a big family, right, so everyone's using the water. Everyone's taking showers, right?"
"If you run out of hot water, that sucks," he explains, alluding to tankless' ability to heat on demand.
Another tech agreed, but for another reason. "Way more storage in your mechanical room," he said, indicating the lack of a tank taking up space.
The last tech interviewed stated, "The fact that you're heating it, 50 gallons of hot water over a year and probably only using a little bit at a time, I gotta say tankless."
One tech chose a tank because he was "a little old-school," but tankless was the clear winner.
What did other experts say?
CNET also agreed with the techs, stating, "tankless wins in almost every category," including energy efficiency and performance.
However, it does note, "you'll pay more to purchase and install the tankless water heater."
Consumer Reports (CR) notes that tankless heaters beat out tanks in efficiency and performance. "Replacing a tank water heater with a tankless can be expensive, and the payback time can be longer than the warranty."
However, CR also says that when building a new home, tankless is often the best bet for a consumer.
"In that case, installing a tankless water heater can make financial sense because there’s no major retrofitting costs involved," it states.
@_airvantage What's better? Tank vs Tankless? #hvac #waterheater #waterheaters #heatingandcooling #hvactechnician #hvaclife #wouldyourather #wouldyouratherquestions #funny #work #workhumor #companyculture ♬ original sound - AirVantage Heating & Cooling
Viewer preferences
Many diehard tank loyalists took to the comments section to voice their opinions.
"Tank for sure," one viewer bluntly posted.
Connor4463 (@connorm4463) wrote, "13 years in the industry. tank all day and twice on Sunday. cheaper/easier/faster to repair and don't fail as often."
"Let me guess, these guys specialize in tankless installs? The savings goes out the window when it needs to be serviced once a year," another viewer accused.
However, tankless did find supporters in the comments section as well. "I’m not even a plumber or nothing but we have a tankless and it’s heavenly," one viewer stated.
The Daily Dot reached out to AirVantage via its website and TikTok comment for a statement.
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