Your home relies on a working water heater for, well, lots of things. Clean laundry. Hot showers. Great-looking dishes. Your water heater does a lot. But, how exactly does it heat up all that water? In this blog post, we’ll review the details about how water heaters work.
How do water heaters work?
A water heater tank is fed cold water by a dip tube at the bottom. As the water enters the tank, it’s heated at the bottom—this is where the heating element is. As the water heats up to a temperature of between 120-140 degrees, it begins to rise over the colder water just now entering the tank.
Eventually, the tank is filled with water, and the heat-out pipe at the top of the tank allows water to escape. Since the hot water is at the top, it’s always the heated water exiting the tank and into your home.
By using physics (the nature of heated water to rise over cold water), your water heater is able to quickly take cold water, heat it, and send it to your faucets, shower heads, and washing machine.
What is an anode rod?
Over time, the constant mix of water and metal leads to corrosion. Left unchecked, this corrosion would immediately attack the inside of the tank, quickly destroying it and causing a whole host of problems for your home, including—probably—a tank burst.
Fortunately, your water heater has a way of protecting itself. Water heaters contain a sacrificial anode rod. This rod is designed to attract corrosive elements in the water, taking the damage instead of the tank.
Anode rods only last so long, though. Generally, replacing an anode rod in the middle of your system’s life is a good idea. If you’d like Air Control to replace your water heater’s anode rod, contact us.
What are tankless water heaters?
Also known as “demand-type” water heaters, tankless water heaters heat your home’s water without the use of the tank setup described above.
Typically wall-mounted, tankless water heaters run cold water from your home’s tap through it, using heating elements to rapidly heat the water to temperature before sending it out into your home.
Unlike standard water heaters, which have a limit on how much hot water they can provide your home at once, tankless water heaters can supply your home with a virtually unlimited amount of hot water. These systems are perfect for large families with multiple people showering in the morning or at night.