Seeking advise on water heaters/electric showers

[Farangland]

Hi there,

 

I'm trying to figure out, compare, Pro's and Con's regarding electric water heating devices.

 

In my home country I was used to the ones with tank, but here in Thailand they mostly use the instant tankless showers.

 

Between both of them, would somebody be able to advise me, which one will be more efficient regarding electric bill?

 

Pro's about instant shower is that warm water is endless, you just need a socket beside cold water pipe (not two pipes -hot&cold- coming from water tank), but I'm concerned about consumption.

 

I can also realize the ones with tank are mostly 1500 watts, compared with electric showers that they are around 2500/3000 watts and up, but how long water tanked might be working to reach set temperature?

 

Thanks in advance,

Farangland

 

 

[Crossy]

Tank heaters, lower power (1.5kW) over a longer time but less strain on your power supply. Take time to heat up, can run out of hot water.

 

Tankless heater, high power (3.5kW up), instant and infinite hot water but can cause power supply issues if you have the bigger ones (6kW, 8kW).

 

 

 

[wgdanson]

17 minutes ago, Crossy said:

Tank heaters, lower power (1.5kW) over a longer time but less strain on your power supply. Take time to heat up, can run out of hot water.

 

Tankless heater, high power (3.5kW up), instant and infinite hot water but can cause power supply issues if you have the bigger ones (6kW, 8kW).

 

 

 

The OP said 'you just need a socket'. NO NO NO ,it must (should) go via a double pole switch situated outside the bathroom and then directly to the consumer unit --- fuse box in old money.

Regarding electric bill, theoretically it takes the same amount of energy to heat a given volume of water to a given temperature.

Edited November 29, 2018 by wgdanson

[xylophone]

15 minutes ago, Crossy said:

Tank heaters, lower power (1.5kW) over a longer time but less strain on your power supply. Take time to heat up, can run out of hot water.

 

Tankless heater, high power (3.5kW up), instant and infinite hot water but can cause power supply issues if you have the bigger ones (6kW, 8kW).

 

 

 

Also depends on your hot water needs and usage...……...if a "once-off" basis as in a shower then my pick would be something like the Panasonic pictured, but if you want to supply several outputs (washing m/c, sink, etc) then the tank would be my preference.

[Farangland]

3 hours ago, wgdanson said:

Regarding electric bill, theoretically it takes the same amount of energy to heat a given volume of water to a given temperature.

Yeah! This was main subject I was searching for.

 

Thank you so much!

[steve73]

Keeping a tank full of hot water is great if you want to fill a bath, otherwise most of your needs will be met with an instant heater.

 

No matter how well insulated, your hot tank will always be leaking some heat.. which must be replenished... and if that heat leaks into your living quarters, you'll need additional energy via A/C to remove it.  An instant heater uses just enough power for the hot water you require.  So an instant heater will be cheaper to run.

 

Also, in a colder climate, using an instant heater to heat your incoming water at c. 5-10 C up to a comfortable 35-40 C uses a lot more power than here in Thailand where the incoming water is more like 20-30.  Typical showers here are 3-3.5kW, compared to similar in the UK of 6-10kW. 

 

If you do want enough hot water for a bath, it will take ages to fill, but you could consider a thermal solar heater...