Best Water Heater of 2024

Last Updated on September 18, 2023 by Darron Dennis

If you are searching for the best water heater, then you have come to the right place. We have considered so many things, to come up with this post. This post is aimed at showing you the best water heater out there, so stick with us to the end as we show you these water heaters.

Water heating is a heat transfer process that uses an energy source to heat water above its initial temperature. Typical domestic uses of hot water include cooking, cleaning, bathing, and space heating. In industry, hot water and water heated to steam have many uses.

The water coming into your home makes a journey through a system of pipes, and it’s usually cold or cool, depending on the time of year. To have water warm enough to take a hot shower or bath, or use your dishwasher or washing machine, you need a water heater.

Water heaters are familiar fixtures in most homes. They typically look like big metal cylinders, tall drums that are often consigned to a laundry room or basement. Newer styles have some interesting features, like losing the tank completely in favor of water-on-demand, but the old, reliable water heater design that’s most widely used in the U.S. today is really a pretty simple appliance; it’s basically a drum filled with water and equipped with a heating mechanism on the bottom or inside. Even though they lack drama and complexity, water heaters are still pretty amazing.

What makes them interesting is that they exploit the heat rising principle to deliver hot water right to your faucet with a minimum of fuss. Don’t let the simple shape shrouded in its wooly insulating blanket fool you. Water heaters have an ingenious design on the inside for something that looks so ordinary on the outside.

Let’s take a quick look at the components that work together in your water heater to make your morning shower so satisfying:

• Tank – The inner shell of a water heater is a heavy metal tank containing a water protective liner that holds 40 to 60 gallons (151 to 227 liters) of hot water at around 50 to 100 pounds per square inch (PSI), within the pressure range of a typical residential water system. The exterior of the tank is covered in an insulating material like polyurethane foam. Over that, there’s a decorative outer shell and possibly an additional insulating blanket
• Dip tube – Water enters the water heater through the dip tube at the top of the tank and travels to the tank bottom where it’s then heated.
• Shut-off valve –The shut-off valve stops water flow into the water heater. It’s a separate component from the heater located outside and above the unit.
• Heat-out pipe –Suspended toward the top of the tank’s interior, the heat-out pipe allows the hot water to exit the water heater.
• Thermostat – This is a thermometer- and temperature-control device. Some electric water heaters have a separate thermostat for each element.
• Heating mechanism – Electric water heaters have heating elements inside the tank to heat the water. Gas water heaters use a burner and chimney system instead.
• Drain valve – located near the bottom of the exterior housing, the drain valve makes it easy to empty the tank to replace the elements, remove sediment or move the tank to another location.
• Pressure relief valve – This safety device keeps the pressure inside the water heater within safe limits.
• Sacrificial anode rod – Made of magnesium or aluminum with a steel core, the sacrificial anode rod is suspended in the water heater tank to help retard corrosion.

BUYER’S GUIDE

The cost of heating water consumes almost 20 percent of your household budget, second only to what you spend on heating and cooling your home. Despite this expense, water heaters are typically ignored until they break, leaving you with no hot water and, possibly, a flooded basement.

If your water heater is nearing the end of its useful life and you’re thinking of replacing it before disaster strikes, you’ll be happy to know that you have better choices, thanks to recent federal regulations that require water heaters to be more energy-efficient. New storage tank water heaters are required to operate more efficiently, and tank-less (on-demand) water heaters are even more efficient than that.

Storage tank water heaters are the most common type and are available in a range of storage capacities from 20 to 80 gallons. Coldwater enters the storage tank and is heated by either gas or electricity. The water stays hot at a set temperature until it’s needed.

Pros: Storage tank heaters generally are the least expensive types and operate faithfully with a minimum of maintenance.

Cons: The stored water slowly loses heat and must be continually reheated to the set temperature, wasting energy.

Tankless water heaters, aka on-demand or instantaneous water heaters, don’t have any storage capacity. Instead, when someone turns on a hot water faucet or the dishwasher, cold water flows into the tankless unit, gets heated to a set temperature, then is piped to wherever it’s needed. Tankless units come in various sizes depending on the size of the household.

Pros: Ankles water heaters are more energy-efficient than storage types, and you’ll never run out of hot water.

Cons: They’re more expensive than a conventional storage type, and installation can be tricky, driving up initial costs. Depending on the size of your house and household, you may need more than one.

Hybrid heat pump water heaters take warmth from the ambient air and use it to heat the water inside a storage tank. Hybrids feature supplemental electrical heating to handle periods of high demand.

Pros: Because heat pump-type water heaters use air that’s already warm, they’re very energy efficient — up to three times more efficient than conventional storage-type heaters. Energy Star-qualified heat pump water heaters can save an average household up to $300 per year in energy costs.

Cons: These types of water heaters have special requirements. They need lots of unobstructed space around them so they can work efficiently, and they can only be installed in climates where the yearly temperature range stays between 40 to 90 degrees. However, some models include switchable modes, meaning you can shift to a standard, all-electric heating mode if temps are too low.

Solar water heaters feature a collector — a flat box that’s usually installed on your roof. Tubes inside the box circulate cold water, and heat captured from sunlight warms the water as it circulates. The warmed water then returns to a storage tank. Thermostatic controls prevent water from flowing when outside temps are very low. The tank itself usually includes a conventional, supplemental heat source to keep up with demands.

Where freezing temps are common, an indirect system is better. Instead of heating household water directly, the unit circulates an antifreeze solution. Sunlight heats the antifreeze as it moves through pipes inside the collector. Then the warmed solution moves through a heat exchanger — often a simple series of coils — inside a hot water storage tank.

Solar water heaters qualify for a federal tax credit of up to 30 percent of the installation costs in 2016. To qualify, your hot water heating system must generate at least half its heat from the sun.

Pros: Sunshine is a free and renewable resource. Tax credits shave installation costs.

Cons: Initial setup increases costs, especially if running pipes from the collector to a storage tank is problematic. A backup heat source is usually needed to compensate for very cold or cloudy days

With all this information, choosing the best water heater for you shouldn’t be too much of a stress. So we’ll head straight into the topic:

BEST WATER HEATER

Rheem 240V 2 Heating Chambers RTEX-18

When you got tired of paying too much on your energy bill, it’s time to take a look at the alternatives. Even though the traditional water heating systems with tanks come with many benefits, they’re still expensive and not energy-efficient. Let’s not forget about the impact on the environment, either.

Bosch Tronic ES4

Installing a Bosch Tronic 3000T electric mini-tank water heater under the sink puts hot water right where you need it at the point of use.

Easy installation. Simply tap into the cold water line and install the water heater directly at the sink. The Bosch Tronic ES4 plugs into a standard 120-volt outlet. And when you want to eliminate the wait for hot water but need more volume, install the Bosch Tronic electric mini-tank water heater in line with a larger hot water source.

The Bosch Tronic 3000 T ES4 (Ariston Pro Ti GL4TiS) keeps 4 gallons of hot water ready to go and draws only 12.5AMPS. A Pressure relief valve is included.

EcoSmart ECO 11

With its extremely compact construction and its ability to help you save on energy bills by up to 60 percent, the EcoSmart 8 kW Electric Tankless Water Heater is the right choice if your kitchen isn’t really large. While it’s referred to as a heater for the whole home, it’s 1.5-gallon per minute flow rating means it’s best used for homes with only one bathroom. It’s recommended by EcoSmart to use the Eco 8 in homes where the temperature goes as high as 60 degrees or low as 70 degrees. To allow for easy installation, the electric tankless water heater comes with a compression fitting and an adapter for compatibility with other systems. And due to the fact that it’s smaller and more compact than other models, it consumes less power and it’s very easy to install. And should you have any issues or questions regarding the system, EcoSmart has customer service that is totally dedicated to helping customers solve their issues as soon as possible.

Takagi T-KJr2 Indoor Tankless Water Heater

The compact T-KJr2 is a fully modulating, gas-fired, tankless water heater perfect for residential applications. The T-KJr2 can produce enough hot water for up to two bathrooms in warmer climates.

Several showers this unit can handle, depending on ground water temperature.

Camplux propane water heater

The Camplux 5L Outdoor tankless water heater is a marvel in tanker production since it offers the unique benefit of portability. You can carry the water heater to different locations along your travels to use it wherever you need it, without having to worry about energy consumption. The propane gas supply is CSA-approved which runs the heating, fed through a 5-foot propane pipeline that is also included. The heater has a capacity of 1.32 GPM, which can be a drawback since the water takes longer to heat up. Another great feature of the heater is that it works with very low pressure. It just requires 2.0 PSI of pressured water to begin supplying the water immediately.

Stiebel Eltron Tempra 24 plus

Tempra is manufactured by Stiebel Eltron, a pioneer and leader in tankless water heating technology for over 90 years. Endless hot water, advanced technology, impressive energy-saving performance, and a compact design are only a few of the reasons to consider a Tempra tankless water heater.

Cocoarm Mini Home Water Heater

One of the most top-rated water heaters, the Cocoarm mini heaters can be used outdoors, bathrooms, public restrooms, and kitchen for the various hot water use. The heater is easy to operate as it allows free adjustment of water temperature by the water stream. The heater follows all the safety protocols, and it saves both electricity and water, without causing pollution or exhaust gas. The water heater has an exquisite design with a stainless steel outer covering which makes it durable and fashionable. Although it is small in size, it does an excellent job of heating water at a faster speed within its hard steel exterior. The home water heater has a small LCD on the front, which shows the temperature and the minor functions on the screen. The 110 V heater is available in two colors, black and red, which go along with any background paint.

WaiWela Mini heater

WaiWela Mini Tanks combine quality materials and efficient manufacturing techniques to produce an affordable solution to an everyday problem. Millions of gallons of fresh water are wasted every day waiting for the hot water to arrive. Install a WaiWela Mini tank under your sinks to eliminate the wait and reduce the waste of fresh water.

Conclusion

We have come to the end of this review, if you have come this far, then it means you are really interested in getting a heater, these heaters have been tested and are reliable. Going for any of them will give you back the value of your money.