Gas vs Electric Water Heater (Which is Best?)

Gas vs Electric Water Heater (Which is Best?) - Water Heaters 101

So which water heater is best? Gas water heaters or electric water heaters? Today we're going to show you the insides of both and show you their similarities and differences. At the end of this video, you'll know which is better and also, a couple of tips to keep your water heater working better for longer.

Thanks for watching! I'm Roger Wakefield, LEED AP, The Expert Plumber and welcome to my channel. On this channel, I teach homeowners how to save money on their plumbing by doing DIY plumbing projects. I also teach plumbers and plumbing company owners how to be the best plumbers in their area and run successful plumbing businesses. My goal is to teach you everything you need to know about plumbing.

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[tedtop]

man.. you explained how it works but no word which is better to buy or which is more cost effective? so which is better?

[michaelstaley]

I have a 50 gallon gas hot water heater. I installed this myself when my wife and I purchased our home back in 2016. The old was still working but it was 19 years old and we did not want to wake up on a cold morning here in the D.C. area and not have hot water. Also I replaced 2 anoid rods on my father in laws hot water heater a couple of years ago. He has well water and the rods were just about completely destroyed. Thank you for all your plumbing videos.

[rtrnic]

If comparing simply Gas vs Electric on conventional (storage tank) water heaters... There are pros and cons...

What would I choose? *GAS* - I like my water hot, fast and it is way cheaper per annum to run. Yes, the thermal efficiency of the tank itself is not as good as electric, but it still costs you less per annum to operate.

So... Pros and Cons I think of when I compare the two

*GAS*

PROS:
* Cheaper energy cost - BTU for BTU, Gas is always cheaper. Per annum cost is always cheaper vs electric
* Heats water up MUCH faster
- BTU output of heat source is MUCH higher then electric
- Recovery rate is much higher (how fast it can restore/supply hot water)
* Works without any electricity/power outage
* Maintenence is very minimal - The burner will last much longer then an electric heating element and generally lasts the life of the unit

CONS:
* If gas pipes /CO2 vent are not already existing, it is much more a pain and cost to install these, then just an electric cable
* More components vs electric, making it cost more and harder to rebuild (gas valve, burner, flu)
* Gas and CO2 leaks can be dangerous and/or deadly
* The thermal efficiency of the tank is less


*ELECTRIC*

PROS:
* Thermal efficiency is greater
* Cheaper and easier to rebuild (heating components basically are just thermostats and elements, very easy to change)
* No gas pipes or venting required, much easier to install
* No risk of fire or death due to gas or CO2

CONS:
* More expensive per annum
* Takes much longer to heat water, BTU output and recovery rate much less then gas
* Elements build up scale and may need to be replaced sooner then expected depending on water quality
* Will not work in power outage

Tankless units are a different beast... Probably the biggest PRO is you save space. Sure, you can get endless hot water... But only if you buy a unit that keeps up with demand. On a storage tank unit... IF you get one with a high enough recovery rate that exceeds a demand, you can essentially have the same endless effect.

The downside to tankless is they are very suspectible to scale buildup, leaks, and failures. Gas again is superior for BTU output and demand supply and cost when compared to electric. They are also way more expensive compared to tank units.

At the end of the day, gas storage tank water heaters are the way I go.

EDIT - I should mention by gas, I am refering to Natural Gas... Propane is expensive and is something I generally never use or mess with... Propane is pretty much the same as far as pros and cons as natural gas... except cost. Also, propane is a PITA as you have to replensish your onsite tanks. If you already have propane on site, then you might choose to stay with it.

[christopherneubert]

We only had a failure on our gas water heater at approx 10 years. The thermocouple was bad and I replace the entire assembly…$120 ish. Prior to that, I installed a water softener at 5 years. To my knowledge, the tank was not flushed or maintained since new house install…2008. I realized I was merely helping it limp along until the tank scaled. I REALLY want a gas tankless but our gas supply likely needs to be increased. A newer more efficient gas water heater seems to be most economical, considering the available BTU’s during the recovery period. Thanks for the advise! Great channel. :)

[thejnelson]

Changed out both elements on the water heater as well as the thermostat. This was done because I had a kit available at no cost to me. This water heater was on borrowed time and I knew it. It never was flushed and was 18 years old. This was a short term repair done to due to wife and kids. Shortly after I replaced the whole water heater due to the age.

[RobertJones-qjdl]

We bought our first home this year and the first thing we did was change the PRV on the tank. It was CAKED in calcium and had a dribble leak. Thanks for this information, video is saved as I never knew about the frequency of draining and the anode tube. Thank you sir.

[jerryfeliciello]

I have a Montgomery Ward electric water heater that is about 34 years old and still works perfectly. We do have fairly pure water which is coming off a mountain right behind us into our well.

[macman]

Changed out an anode rode the other day. Followed instructions on manual. Easy peasy.

[BlackDragon]

Relocated an old electric unit (half sized siting on a self above the clothes dryer). Replaced with a full sized electric unit on the other side of the wall in an exterior, closed closet on the outside of the house.

Used shark bite connections and ran new electric wires in conduit. Also placed a rated switch next to the new location to allow for remote power shutoff since the breaker was on the other side of the house.

[aaae]

I had a problem where the builders of my house did not setup the pressure regulator to the water supply properly and it was pushing 100lbs of pressure. This was the likely caused of my first water heater splitting in the bottom after only two years. After it was replaced, I had another failure where the thermal expansion tank on top of the heater blew out the top and started erupting water all over the place. I replaced the thermal expansion tank, adjusted the pressure regulator to 60lbs, and filled a few pounds less than 60 of air pressure in the thermal expansion tank. Now that the pressure has been set correctly, I shouldn't have these kind of catastrophic failures. It would be a good idea for people to purchase a pressure gauge at your local hardware store and make sure your water pressure isn't too high or it can cause damage such as this in your plumbing. Not only in water heater, but leaking faucets and toilets that don't run right, which is another symptom I was experiencing.

[Xanthegreat]

Love hearing experts talk, specially the ones that save me money

[JDMKEV]

Thanks Roger, saved myself from possible causing a leak..havn't flushed ours in years and was researching how to but after watching your video sounds like i shouldn't in case it might cause a leak

[victoriaanng]

Have a gas water heater watching to learn about it . Thanks

[aussiegruber]

I have a 6.6kw solar system, and a cheap and nasty 125L storage water heater with a 3.6kw never pay for hot water when unless it's raining or clouds are super set up a smart controller to a relay and its fantastic

[bold]

I have an older twenty gallon water heater . A single 1500 watt element electric. To drain it I have to take the element out and let the water drain out the element opening.
I then take a shop vac with a section of 1/2 inch PVC pipe taped to the shop vac hose and vacuum out solid pieces of calcium .

[bamaslamma]

I'm solidly on team gas. Coastal Alabama is prone to hurricanes and associated lengthy power outages. I'm on well water but have natural gas for heat and hot water. I have a small generator that can run the well pump.

[djpmatchbox]

when I renovated my house because it was a full guy and I was trying to save money, I just did electric everything. My insulation in the house is amazing so even if a storm takes out my electricity, I've been perfectly fine. My stove, hot water tank, and furnace are electric. I also don't plan on living here forever, so in my next house I will do gas. (This also makes it so I only have 1 bill a month, and not a gas bill on top of electric bill. It just helps me have less bills to manage)

[JayBandersnatch]

Another great video, thanks! Ihave a gas heater and I've had to replace the thermocouple, expansion tank and relief valve. The relieve valve failed open when I did my annual flush and valve check. I'm not a plumber yet have always checked my relief valve at the same time as I flush the tank. BTW: the heater is 13 years old, I've been able to replace everything myself and materials were fairly inexpensive.

[SlayerJesse]

This isn't what I was looking for based off of the title but man, what great information!

[varanidguy]

I recently moved into a home that was built in 2006 in Arizona. The previous owners did NOT maintain their appliances, nor did they have a whole house filter or a soft water system. Our water out here is very, very hard. So, as you could imagine, the appliances were naturally pretty beat up, even though they weren't that old. Our tanked electric water heater was starting to fail, but it was overheating the water to the point that it was a safety hazard. You'd turn on the hot water to take a shower, and it was almost scalding, even if you had the hot water barely on. So, in order to fix this, I replaced the heating element (single element unit) and the thermostat. After I pulled the element out, it didn't have any exposed wire or anything, so it likely wasn't the culprit, the thermostat was. Replacing both pieces fixed the issue entirely. However, while I had the element out, I looked inside and the tank was pretty rusty and corroded (again, not maintained/flushed), so knowing it would likely leak or fail soon, I opted to have a tankless installed. I installed the water heater myself (I used to work for a service plumbing company in my late teens and early 20's) and had an electrician upgrade the electrical lines and hook up the water heater to the service. The whole project only cost me about $1750 and I couldn't be happier with the results.