8 Benefits Of Electric Water Heaters Over Gas Water Heaters
Costs of electric vs gas water heaters
Generally, gas water heaters are known to cost less than their electric counterparts when it comes to heating water. Gas is simply more efficient as it heats faster and uses less energy while doing so, compared to an electric unit. However, faster heating and potentially cheaper fuel costs shouldn’t be the only reason you would choose a gas water heater over electric.
Why choose an electric water heater
Although the basic price differences between gas and electricity and the efficiency of gas heat may persuade you to choose a gas water heater
over an electric tank, let me provide you with a number of reasons why an electric water heater, 4 GPM
is better than a gas one:
- Safety: Your chances of an explosion from a gas leak are much greater than electrocution from faulty wiring to your tank. Plus, the damage to your home after an explosion far exceeds most damage that an electric tank could do.
- Ability to install a timer on an electric tank: When we moved into our home, one of the first items we installed was a timer unit that cuts off power to the entire tank at times we determined. It costs between $40-$55 and can be installed by the average handy homeowner (turn off the fuse/breaker before working with electricity though). We have our timer come on at 5am and turn off at 8am. My wife has enough hot water for her morning shower and evening routine, and we only use 3 hours of electricity max, versus 24. Also, since we’re on time-metered billing, we limit our power consumption to off-peak times.
- Cost of installation: With a gas water heater, you must vent the exhaust through a flu. That means you must install PVC tubing up through your home and out your roof. With an electric water heater, you just install a special outlet or bare wiring. No need to saw holes into your roof!
- Space requirements: Gas water heaters need at least 6-18″ of ventilation around all sides and top, which means you can’t just install the tank in a small closet or crawlspace. An electric tank can be installed in confined spaces without fear of gas buildup or an explosion. There are even small electric water heaters for under the sink! (I’ll discuss tank-less water heaters in a later article).
- Life expectancy: Because electric water heaters use less parts, and subject those parts to less direct heat, they can last years beyond the lifespan of a gas water heater.
- Cost of purchase: Electric water heaters cost less than gas heaters of the same size…period.
- No pilot light: Along the lines of safety, electric water heaters do not use a pilot light, so you don’t need to worry about relighting the flame if it accidentally burns out. However, many new gas heaters use electric ignitions, not pilot lights, which leads us to…
- Gas heaters can no longer use the excuse that they work even when the power goes out: That’s right. Now that many gas water tanks use electric ignitions, when the power goes out, so does your hot water (except what’s left in the tank).
Do you have any more reasons an electric tank is better than a gas one? Was I way off on any of the reasons above? Can you prove why a gas water heater can overcome all 8 reasons to be the better choice?
Lastly if you’re making a decision about which water heater to buy the one I think you should look at is the Rheem 240V Heating Chamber RTEX-13 Residential Tankless Water Heater. Its the latest version of the Rheem water heater and it retails for about $275.
You can get it here at Amazon for $265, or you can click on the image below.
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Mike is the original Clever Dude, starting the site in 2006 because his wife said “you need a hobby”. Mike loves helping others to avoid the silliness and stupidity that got him into extreme debt, but also learning general life skills and hacks along the way. Mike and his wife “Clever Dudette” are DINKs (Dual Income, No Kids), travel the country in an RV from their home base in DC and are passionate about their respective careers in technology (him) and nutrition (her).
Here’s another scenario to consider. We are getting solar panels installed on our house. We currently have a gas water heater but are considering adding extra panels to the installation. The plan would be to convert the water heater to electric when it goes out the next time. Gas is more efficient but if we are creating more electricity with the solar that would compensate for added usage in the future. I tried to ask the solar company for any usage comparison so we’d know how many panels (probably just one) to add. He told me only that gas is more efficient (which I already knew!).
Correcting what I stated above, electric is actually more efficient, gas is just more economical and is faster at heating when you’re talking about a tank heater.
I would assume that electric water heaters would be slower on the heating response but more cost effective than gas heaters. I think not very many people know the benefits of a electric heater and that’s why its still not as common as gas heaters. I surely hope that as time progresses, more people will come to understand the need for electric heaters.
It was cool to learn about the benefits of an electric water heater. Thank you for explaining that an electric water heater can last a long time. I hope that I can remember this article if my water heater ever starts to give me problems.
I am going to switch from a gas to an electric water heater in my un-finished basement. That way, I can use the lined chimney for my wood burning stove and help heat the house while not needing a chimney for the electric water heater.
I think it’s really interesting how you mention that electric water heaters are safer than gas. Our water heater just broke and I need to have a new one installed. I’ll have to look for an electric water heater and a service that knows how to install them since I have no idea what I’m doing!
Another reason is we have to pay our local utility a customer charge of 13 dollars each month before we costs such as delivery charge, per and commidity charge are factored in. Moving to electric would eliminate the 13 dollars charge, without an increase on the electric side for this fee. That means 156 dollars a year x 10 years = 1056.00 dollars saved. Reduce that from the cost of paying someone to run electric to the area.
Note that the typical gas water heater is actually horrifically inefficient. Nearly 40% of the energy goes out the flue pipe. It is cheaper though, as you get a far cheaper price for the energy in gas compared to the energy in electricity. The reason is because many gas appliances throw out nearly half that energy, so charging the same price as electricity would make gas prices astronomically high. If you’re concerned about efficiency, get a “condensing gas” water heater, these offer efficiencies comparable to electric heaters while heating up far faster than either typical gas or electric heaters.
I agree with the article’s statement that you shouldn’t choose a heater type based only off of operating cost. Factors such as maintenance and safety should also be taken into consideration when choosing a heater. The article provided some helpful insight as why electric heat can be safer and easier to maintain/install than other heater types. I’ll definitely be keeping this in consideration when my wife and I finally get around to adding a guest room to our house.
“Safety: Your chances of an explosion from a gas leak are much greater than electrocution from faulty wiring to your tank. Plus, the damage to your home after an explosion far exceeds most damage that an electric tank could do.”
But the damage to a home, as a result of a fire caused by faulty wiring, could be just as severe and just as dangerous as the damage caused by a gas explosion. Also, a water heater that malfunctions, overheats (and safety devices fail to shut them off) will explode (due to water pressure and steam buildup) causing significant damage to a home (regardless of whether it is gas or electric). It can pretty much destroy a home.
“Cost of installation: With a gas water heater, you must vent the exhaust through a flu. That means you must install PVC tubing up through your home and out your roof. With an electric water heater, you just install a special outlet or bare wiring. No need to saw holes into your roof!”
If you are installing a gas water heater yourself which is replacing an electric water heater, I would say this may be a legitimate consideration. However, if you’re replacing a gas water heater with a new gas water heater, the venting is already in place as is the hole in the roof. This wouldn’t necessarily add to your time and cost in that situation. If you hire a contractor to do the work, this is a normal, usual and customary part of the work for a gas water heater. So it won’t be that difficult for the contractor to complete. As far as electric, you just install a special outlet can be a fair amount of work – running conduit, pulling wire, putting hole(s) in the wall for the conduit, etc. Plus, the cost of materials for the electrical supplies.
“Space requirements: Gas water heaters need at least 6-18″ of ventilation around all sides and top, which means you can’t just install the tank in a small closet or crawlspace. An electric tank can be installed in confined spaces without fear of gas buildup or an explosion. There are even small electric water heaters for under the sink! (I’ll discuss tank-less water heaters in a later article).”
You’re correct in that it requires greater space for a gas heater compared to a water heater. The space factor has do to with providing enough airflow/oxygen for the pilot light and burner to function properly and to enable the exhaust gases to be vented safely. An explosion hazard from gas buildup won’t make a difference if it’s in a small closest or a slightly larger closet.
“I agree with the article’s statement that you shouldn’t choose a heater type based only off of operating cost. Factors such as maintenance and safety should also be taken into consideration when choosing a heater.”
Ultimately, choosing a gas or electric heater all comes down to money. Operating cost, maintenance cost, cost to repair home in case of catastrophic failure all figure into what would be best. Maintenance costs include part and labor of a contractor; or parts and your investment of time if you do the work yourself. If the gas water heater has a gas leak that results in an explosion destroying your home, that would be catastrophic and significant cost to rebuild the home. If the electric water heater has faulty wiring that results in a fire destroying your home, that would be catastrophic and significant in cost to rebuild as well. Your decision then becomes which do I think would be less likely to occur. Admittedly, both are fairly uncommon and assumes that in either gas or electric case the fault is not discovered until after catastrophic damage has occurred. So deciding which is more economical from a safety standpoint then requires one to look at other money factors. Which one is less expensive to purchase may be a deciding factor at that point. Or which one is easier to install (which translate to which one is less expensive to install).
None of these comments are intended to disparage what has been described by the author or others who have commented. Rather to add to the discussion of what has been stated as the article is very informative and other contributors’ comments have valid points, too.
In my opinion, John Jacob has the most accurate summary.
When reading the end on the article, it stated “Can you *prove* why a gas heater can overcome all 8 reasons to be the better choice?“
It depends on your level of proof.
In the world of education, “proof” is a very high bar to attain.
It’s usually only after a long period of experiments (repeated by third parties) does one come close to proof.
I think you might be looking for “anecdotal evidence”.
At least that’s what you have given us the readers. I will assume you are asking for the same..unless there’s some proof in the article I missed.
Heating anything using electricity is so inefficient (this is coming from an electrical contractor of 25 years, I have no interest to promote gas) using electricity it amazes me places like the City of Berkeley now want to outlaw gas heating….where do the politicians that make these laws think the majority of their electricity comes from? But that’s another story:-).
Let’s get into the crux of your argument.
# 1. We are more likely to die from gas leaks- from water heaters than electrical miswiring? I believe that to be wildly inaccurate. Please show where you grabbed your statistics.
2. The ability of water heater timers to lower your energy bill completely depends on the consumer’s situation. If your heater is indoors in a conditioned space, any savings by turning your heater off overnight can be quite negligible.
3. Only matters in a new home. Even then it’s a set cost, and the savings by using gas soon overrides.
4. That is only concerning a small remote located electric heater (instahot unit) which I agree are good as electric models.
5. Again, anecdotal evidence (I
Do you have studies to show this?) . I have a gas water heater from 1992 that is still chugging along.
6. Your correct gas water heaters cost more. But electricity also costs on average three times more in California..where I’m making my argument from. The savings by using gas pay for it quickly.
7. Pilot light? That’s reaching. Never had my pilot light go out. However, my electricity goes out fairly often.
8. Nope. Use a very dependable pilot light.
And even I didn’t, I like many people across California (and the US) are going to solar/Powerwall systems. Even without a Powerwall/off-grid system, relighting a electronic igniter during the rare times the power goes off is very easy.
All 8:-)
That’s a good point that there would be less of a chance of a gas leak with an electric water heater. I wouldn’t want to have to worry about anyone breathing in gas or have an explosion or fire in the house. I should consider getting an electric heater if I get a new house, so I could avoid that problem.
A major benefit of electric water heater is their longevity. They have a life expectancy of somewhere around 20 years, which is nearly double then the conventional tank water heaters that last just around 10 to 12 years. Second, you will never run out of water, if you resize them and install them properly you can take as many showers as you want back to back without running out of hot water.
Thank you for mentioning the difference in cost between electric and gas water heaters. I am building a new home this fall. I will find a good water heater service in my area.