4 Primary Types of Water Heating Elements

Electric water heaters come in various types, shapes, and sizes. Irrespective of the type, there is a vital component invariably present in every water heater, which is called the water heating element. Now, these elements constitute the key component in any kind of water heater, which is responsible for the heating function. These components are designed to allow the current flow through them, which results in heating of the element and the same heat is transferred to water to make it hot.

There are primarily four types of water heating elements that are used in different water heaters. Over time, the element wears out and needs to be replaced with a new one. A water heater without a heating component is like a car without an engine. So, you should ensure that your heater’s element is in good condition always. If it needs to be replaced, you should replace it with the same kind and not a different kind of component.

1. Tankless Element

As the name suggests, this kind of element is not fitted in a storage tank kind of thing. The water heaters that make use of this kind of heating component are also called instantaneous, inline, or continuous flow water heaters. The benefit of this kind of heating element or component is that it eliminates the need for storing large quantities of water, as it heats the water when it is supplied from the line. In this way, they also facilitate power saving and thus they provide an efficient way of heating water. A heat exchanger is used by these kinds of elements for providing instantaneous heating.

2. Storage Heaters

It would be easy to understand the functioning of a storage heater if you consider it a large kettle. It is basically a big water container fitted with a heating element at the bottom. This heating component is regulated by a thermostat that maintains a preset temperature inside the heater. This heater may seem inefficient because once the tank becomes empty, you have to wait for it to fill all over again and water to be heated thereafter. But, the fact is that it is mostly used in homes nowadays. It also requires less maintenance than the tankless model, and the element here lasts longer due to less severe heating.

3. Heat Pumps

The function of a heat pump element is akin to a refrigerator, which is used for cooling. That is to say, in this type of heating, electricity is not directly used to heat water, but it is used to flow a compressed gas. This is basically a refrigerator in reverse. While a refrigerator takes heat from the compartment and disperses it into the surrounding air, a heat pump water heater collects heat from the surrounding air and forcefully introduces it into an insulated water tank; as this process is repeated again and again, the water gets heated eventually. This kind of process is also quite energy efficient.

4. Indirect Heater Elements

These kinds of elements are usually part of what is called an integrated or combination water and space heating system. In this model, a home heating system’s furnace or boiler is used as the primary heat source from where a heat exchanging element enters a separate water tank. Inside the tank, when the hot fluid from the furnace/boiler flows inside the heat exchanging element, the water absorbs heat and gradually becomes hot. This kind of water heating process may prove most energy efficient, provided it is used with a high-efficiency boiler and well-insulated water tank.

Kunal Verma is an avid reader and pertaining to use of various Heaters market expanse and related information.