Use Your Heating Equipment for Hot Water, with Tankless Coil or Indirect Water Heaters
There are a lot of options when it comes to water heating! Read on for an overview of the most common types of systems, then call Woodfin to have your heating system, plumbing, and hot water needs evaluated to find the best option for your home!
Tankless and indirect systems can be fired by gas, oil, propane, electric, or a combination of any of these. Tankless systems are typically oil or gas-fired. Also, these integrated or combination water heating systems not only work with forced air systems but with hydronic or radiant floor heating systems as well.
Source: U.S. Department of Energy/EERE
Indirect water heaters offer a more efficient choice for most homes, even though they require a storage tank. An indirect water heater uses the main furnace or boiler to heat a fluid that's circulated through a heat exchanger in the storage tank. The energy stored by the water tank allows the furnace to turn off and on less often, which saves energy. Therefore, an indirect water heater is used with a high-efficiency boiler and well-insulated tank can be the least expensive means of providing hot water.
A Tankless Coil water heater uses a heating coil or heat exchanger installed in a main furnace or boiler. Whenever a hot water faucet is turned on, the water flows through the heat exchanger. These water heaters provide hot water on demand without a tank, like a demand water heater, but because they rely on the furnace or boiler to heat the water directly, tankless coil water heaters work most efficiently during cold months when the heating system is used regularly. That's why they can be an inefficient choice for many homes, especially for those in warmer climates.
