How Gas Water Heaters Work

Gas water heaters obey the laws of physics, more specifically the law of convection, which on a most basic level states that the heat rises. So hot water goes up, simple as that. The construction of a typical gas water heater consists of the following parts - cold water line, tank, tank insulation, dip tupe (through which the cold water goes inside the tank), drain valve, gas burner (heating up the cold water which enters), gas burner control, overflow pipe, pressure relief valve, gas supply line, hot water out.

So the cold water is injected inside the tank through the dip tube. Because the cold water has high density, it stays at the bottom of the tube and it's getting heated by the gas burner beneath it. As the water heats up, it naturally rises (the convection law) and is drawn off by the hot water discharge pipe. This guarantees that only the hottest water is being used from the tank.

The cold water is supplied to the tank through a cold water supply line and this process is controlled by shutoff valve. Therefore, when buying a given model, ask the staff at the store to tell you where the supply shut of valve is located so that future maintenance can be performed on the tank. Of course, you can always check the user manual and technical specifications for those details.

The tank jacket is made out of steel and encloses a pressure tested water storage tank. In order to reduce heat loss of the heated water, there is insulation installed between the storage tank and the tank jacket. Inside the tank, there is a dip tube. This is where the cold water supply enters the tank to be heated by the gas burner.

Statistics show that on an average basis, instant gas water heaters account for about 30-40 per cent of the gas hot water market compared with 60-70 per cent for traditional gas storage systems. But those numbers are about to change as the proportion of instantaneous gas water heaters being installed is growing, at the expense of storage type water heaters.

So the logical question here is - why are buyers going for electric water heaters? The first factor is their versatility and to regulatory requirements that demand buildings be more energy efficient. Furthermore, the installation costs compared to solar systems are much lower. And last but not least, gas is cheaper than electricity, so at the end, you will save on your monthly bills.