We have all experienced some sort of shortage of hot water on our property. We might be taking a shower and the running water suddenly becomes icy cold or running a bath and the hot water suddenly disappears. This shortage of hot water is almost always caused by an inadequate water tank size that we have for our hot water system.
So how do we know if we have the correct size tank for our hot water? Is there a way to accurately calculate what size we need for our household?
It’s essential and very important that we get the correct size of the water heater that we need on our property. Having too small a tank would mean that you would not have enough hot water to supply the demand of each family member. Getting too large a tank would also mean a bigger cost on your electric/gas bill and could put a strain on your finances. So knowing the correct size to get is very important when deciding what to get for your water heater.
So Here are Some Tips on How to Know The Correct Size of The Water Heater That you Need for your Property
There have been some debates between the hot water specialist on how to correctly determine the size of the hot water tank that is suitable for a household. Some would say that the best way to get the correct size is to know the number of people living in the house. Some would argue that it’s best to determine it by the number of bathrooms that the house has.
For us, the best way to know what size to get for your water heater is to determine the usage of hot water during a specified time. This can be correlated to the number of showers being taken during a specified time of the day. So if you have 3 people taking showers between 6:00 AM to 7:00 AM, then that should be the basis of how much hot water is essentially needed during that period.
A typical shower usually lasts about 8-10 minutes. Each shower can consume an average of 8-10L/minute depending on the type of showerhead that you have. If you have the new water-conserving showerheads, the average consumption could be around 7-8L/min.
Assuming that you have a water-saving showerhead, a typical 10-minute shower would consume 70 L of water. So having 3 people taking showers between that specified time would consume roughly 210L of hot water. That is also taking into consideration that there are no other devices, like the washing machine or dishwasher, using any hot water during the shower period.
So for this kind of family, having a 250L – 315LÂ tank is most appropriate for their hot water needs. Now again, the basis should be the usage of the hot water on a certain time period so you can properly calculate the size of the tank that you need.
If you do need help in getting the correct size of tank for your hot water, call us and we would gladly assist you in getting the correct water size tank for your family. If you need help with your water heater, don’t hesitate to give us a call at 13 10 91. Here is another article that you may find interesting in regard to “Why do I run out of hot water“
At The Plumbing and Electrical Doctor, we have made these articles downloadable to PDF for our customer’s convenience.
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