Electric water heater or gas water heater, which is better?

It all depends on the cost of natural gas, propane, or electricity. I have owned several of each one over the years and I would say that gas is probably the least costly as far as what it takes to operate. That being said, you will find that a gas heater will cost more than an electric heater, and will cost more to have installed than an electric heater does. Another factor is if you have a gas heater now and want to go to an electric one, does your main breaker box have enough room left in it for the double breaker it will take to get service from the main box to where you want to put the heater? If not, you will have to get a larger box installed, run a service line from that box to where you are installing the heater. You would need a electrician to do all this work, and between the cost of all the needed parts and labor, you will have a pretty good expense. On the other hand with gas, if you currently have an electric heater and want to go to gas, do you have a vent pipe already installed where you want to put the gas heater? If not, you will need to get a vent pipe installed so the gas fumes can escape out of the house. This to can cost some money to get done. Also, if you currently have an electric heater, is the area where the electric heater is currently located a safe place to put a gas heater? It may be possible you will have to move the gas heater to a different location for it to be a safe place to use. All of these things need to be considered if you intend to go from one to the other and it may take a while to re-coop the cost of changing from one to the other. Overall, I think gas would be some cheaper than electric heaters. Gas will heat the water usually quicker than electric heaters do and if you are on a city or public water system, you will still have hot water if the electric goes off.

A gas water heater is the way to go. It's is less expensive in the long run and a more green solution. If monitored correctly there is a lot of potential for savings. When I was deciding, I found a couple websites that really helped inform about the options available and they offer great comparisons and show the monetary savings. Once you decide on gas or electric seriously consider getting a water heater timer. It allows you to control when you want hot water and turns the unit off when you aren't home or do not need hot water. For my family the water heater timer works great and it really does make a difference on the bill and supposedly its a good 'green' option.

http://waterheatertimer.org/pro-n-con-for-tankless...

http://www.gaswaterheatertimer.com/

This question can go either way. It really depends on what costs less the gas or the electric. Where Im at it cheaper to have a hose all electric. There are some "smart" electric water heaters out there that are far less cheaper to operate than that of gas. With each question and answer to the two is a pro and con. I guess it depends on who you ask, and where you live.

Im not a fan of these tankless deals. They cost way too much, and require quite a bit of maintenance esp if you have hard water.

In most places gas water heater is less expensive than electric. However there is a hybrid electric tank heater that is better than any other electric water heater.

Tankless is still the best. It costs big time up front. Remember to include venting in the costs, they can be unusually high. External tankless water heaters are the least expensive to install if you have a place to install it.

Depending on utility rates in your area, the relative cost of electricity to gas for heating ranges anywhere from 2.5x to 7x (and likely to rise in the future). Gas and electric water heaters are equivalent in cost - so natural gas is almost always the best option.

To save even more consider a tankless gas water heater - more expensive initially than a tank type model, but worth it in the long run.

Have you considered having a point of use water heater . They only operate when turned on and they don't run at all when not in use whereas gas and electric are almost always running to maintain the water temperature. Yes they do cost more but they pay for themselves within a couple of years and then you will really be energy efficient. I hope this helps you and good luck.

Richard

I like Electric water heater better than gas water heater because you will no longer wait when your using electric water heater than using gas water heater.

That is a question that l been trying to figure out. From my experience l find that electric is cheaper. then l searched the net and l a told that gas is cheaper to run. I do know that a gas water heater is by far more expensive to install and or replace.

if you want to be good to the environment than get an electric one but the performance is definitley not going to match a gas water heater which will work much better. So basically if you want a very well performing water heater than get a gas oe if your not concerned about the environment but if you are concerned about the enviroment and performance is not much of a concern than get an electric one. Hope this helps!

Electric heat is less efficient than gas heat. An electric water heater is more expensive to operate.

If you look on the label, you'll see the energy rating, & it'll show the average annual operating cost. It's like EPA fuel economy ratings on vehicles. Not exactly what it would cost you, but it's good for comparison.