Water is locally heated in vessels found in the households such as kettles, pots, cauldrons or coppers. But these kitchen appliances do not provide continuous supply of readily available hot water. Appliances that produce hot water supply are known as water heaters. Sometimes they are also called water boilers, hot water tanks, heat exchangers, geysers or hot water heaters.
In Australia, winter visits the country from June to August; this is when water heaters are commonly used in heating. Winter’s grip can sometimes threaten human health. Dr. Charmian Bennett of the National Centro for Epidemiology and Population Health said since 1960 a gradual warming was observed and this was increasing almost every decade.
"The gradual warming ... might therefore be expected to have differentially affected mortality in the two seasons and thus indicate an early impact of climate change on human health," Bennett and his colleagues posted.
One way to combat cold weathers is improving the plumbing heating system or upgrading the water heaters. There are four known types of water heaters such as storage water heaters, tank less heaters, electric shower heads and solar water heaters.
Storage water heater. For household and commercial use, storage water heater or commonly known as the “tank type” is the best fit. Tank types usually come in cylindrical vessels or containers that keep water hot and ready to use. These types are powered using electricity, natural gas, propane, heating oil, solar, or other energy sources.
Tank-less heater. Tank less, also called inline, flash, continuous flow, instant-on water heater, are high-powered heaters which instantly produces hot water as it flows through the device and does not keep water internally. It can be comfortably installed throughout a household at more than one point-of-use. Compared to traditional storage water heaters, tank less heaters produce a large volume of continuous hot water and saves energy under some conditions.
Electric shower heads. With this type of water heating system, the electric heating device is incorporated into the shower head. Since electric shower heads only use energy when water flows, energy is saved in a considerable amount compared to gas heaters. Aside from energy consumption, electric showers are also safe to use as the material, usually nickel or an alloy of nickel and chromium, acts as the insulator between the electric parts.
Solar water heater.This type of heater uses solar collectors which are commonly placed on the roof, walls or nearby places outside the household. Hot water tanks used with these solar collectors should be compatible with solar thermal. Basic models are the direct-gain types which have storage integrated inside the collectors. As the name implies, water is heated directly. This is more effective than indirect heating. But it can only protect the water from freezing in a limited time. Another type of solar collector is indirect or closed loop which pumps hot fluid through the panels.
Geothermal heating and gravity-fed systems are other options in other countries. In Australia, water heaters are traditionally considered a part of bathroom. It is a water system that must be thoroughly checked, maintained and upgraded, if there is a necessity; avoid inevitable heating problems during winter’s reign. Needless to say, Civic plumbing contractor Sydney help you with this.
Water heaters are essential in keeping us warm during the cold season. So we have to ensure that they always function well.