Water Heater Reviews

Tankless Coil and Indirect Water Heater – A Cost Effective Solution for Your Home

Water heating is a thermodynamic process that heats water by using an energy source to raise its initial temperature to the level of heat required. Hot water is a basic need for every home, considering that it is necessary for bathing, cooking, washing, cleaning and heating space.

Traditionally, water used to be heated using kettles, pots or other water heating vessels. In today’s fast paced world, however, we need a quick and constant supply of hot water, and for that reason water heaters are finding more and more applications in our homes.

There are many kinds of water heaters available in the market like gas or electric hot water heaters, but an indirect water heater is the most efficient kind, as it uses the hot water from the boiler used for heating your home to circulate through a coil inside it. This is why these kinds of heaters are also known as combination water and space heating systems.

An indirect water heater is more efficient because it provides unlimited water, saves long term energy, requires less physical space, reduces risk of water damage and maintains a stable temperature throughout the process known as temperature compensation.

Tankless coil water heaters – as the name suggests – do not require a tank for storing water. This is because they don’t heat water directly, but rather use a heat exchanger or heating coil installed in the main boiler and circulate the hot water whenever the faucet is on.

The water is heated in these systems only when it is required through using a gas burner or electric heater. Since we tend to use our home’s boilers continuously in the winter months, the working efficiency of tankless water heaters is maximized in the cold seasons because they depend on the boilers to heat the water on a continuous basis.

An indirect water heater, on the other hand, requires a special insulating tank to store the hot water coming from the main boiler. They also do not heat water directly but use a main boiler to heat up the liquid and circulates it through the heat exchanger installed in the storage tank. Due to the installation of an additional storage tank they allow the main boiler to turn off and thus work efficiently throughout the year. Water can be heated in these systems through using gas, oil, propane, electric, solar energy or a combination of any or all of these.

Because a tankless coil and indirect water heater is an essential part of a combination water and space heating system, it’s important to carefully select the one that can best serve our purposes. Combination water and space heating systems are a bit expensive, but its advantages are endless. The installation and maintenance charges is negligible, only one source is enough to heat all the water required for circulation, and your heating energy bills will be considerably lower because of the system’s efficiency.

When selecting such a system, you should consider some key elements: First, you’ll need to determine the size of the system that your home requires; this can be done by consulting a qualified plumber. Second, you’ll need to determine the system’s Combination Appliance Efficiency (CAE) rating which is directly related to its energy efficiency. A combination water and space heating system with a CAE rating of more than 0.85 is considered to be the most energy efficient. Finally, you’ll have to discover which companies manufacture an indirect water heater suitable for your needs. Some of the most well known manufacturers are companies such as Crown Boiler, Rheem-Rhud, and LeverEdge.

Tankless coil and indirect water heaters, particularly when used with a high efficiency boiler, are the most efficient energy saving systems we can install in our home. The initial cost is a worthwhile expense when you consider the long term benefits of cost effective water heating.