A gas water heater or a boiler - which is better to choose for receiving hot water. Choosing a gas water heater for heating water Wall mounted gas water heaters for an apartment

A common everyday situation: you decided to buy a household appliance for autonomous hot water supply, but you don’t know which is better - a gas water heater or a boiler. Indeed, both types of heaters can boast many advantages, although they work in different ways. To help you understand this problem, we will compare the pros and cons of various water heaters and find out which one is better to choose in a given situation.

Types of water heaters and criteria for their comparison

All water heating devices for household needs are divided into 2 groups: storage boilers and flowing water heaters. The first is a tank of a certain volume, where water is heated in various ways up to a maximum of 75 ° C, after which it can be used. Flow-through heaters (they are also columns) are designed to raise the temperature of the flow passing through the heat exchanger on the fly.

The main element of the storage water heating device is a tank with a capacity of 35 ... 200 liters

The stores sell 3 types of water heating devices for private houses and apartments:

• electric and gas water heaters;
• storage boilers running on electricity or natural gas;
• indirect heating boilers.

Usually, users are interested in which option is better - a gas water heater or an electric water heater, since these 2 types are the most popular.

The secret to popularity is pretty simple. These household appliances are superior in quality to the rest: they are more reliable, more efficient and cheaper. It is more difficult to install an electric water heater - the device consumes a lot of power, therefore it is not suitable for installation in an apartment with old wiring or with a small electricity limit.

A gas storage water heater for hot water also cannot be classified as a popular household appliance. The column is more convenient to use, and it's easier to install it. In turn, an indirect heating storage boiler is used in conjunction with another heat source -. These DHW tanks hold 100… 300 liters, take up a lot of space and are offered in 2 versions: floor-standing and wall-mounted.

We will compare an electric boiler and a gas water heater according to 3 criteria:

• equipment price;
• complexity of installation;
• ease of use.

But first, it does not hurt to disassemble all the advantages and disadvantages of these water heating devices.

Pros and cons of electric boilers

The principle of operation of these devices is as follows: the entire volume of water in the tank is heated by an electric heating element to the temperature set by the user. Its optimal value is 55 ° С, the maximum is 75 ° С. Heating from zero requires 1 to 3 hours of time, depending on the initial temperature in the water supply system.

When the maximum temperature threshold is reached, the electric boiler is able to immediately provide a large flow of hot water with simultaneous demand from several consumers. The duration of work before cooling depends on the capacity of the tank and the amount of consumption. Given these features, we list the strengths of storage heaters operating on electricity:

1. The ability to satisfy the demand for high water consumption from several consumers at the same time.
2. The operation of the device does not depend on the pressure in the water supply and the initial temperature of the water.
3. Installing and connecting the boiler is much easier than any other water heater. No permits are required for installation, chimney ducts and ventilation with three air changes are also not needed.
4. Long service life. In most models from different manufacturers, the heating element is protected by a ceramic shell and will not burn out from scale formation.

Reference. The theoretical efficiency of electric heaters is traditionally the highest, efficiency = 99%. Although in practice, this advantage is difficult to assess in comparison with.

The weak points of the storage type water heater are the limitation of the total volume of hot water supplied and the long heating time of the next portion, when the supply in the tank has been fully used. The disadvantage can be aggravated by the wrong choice of the boiler by volume, then 2 options are possible:

• the device with a too large tank heats up longer, and in standby mode it consumes more energy wasted;
• a small container is an insufficient supply of hot water, which will not be enough for all needs and you will have to constantly wait until a new portion heats up.

The last significant drawback is the significant size of the storage tank, which plays an important role in the apartment. It is not easy to allocate space in the kitchen or in the bathroom for an 80-liter apparatus, because a family of 4 needs approximately this amount.

Advantages and disadvantages of gas water heaters

The strong point of flow-through household gas water heaters lies in the ability to momentarily heat water, as soon as you open the corresponding tap on the mixer.

Moreover, the column continues to supply hot water indefinitely as long as the valve is open. It is these qualities that make flow-through gas heaters so attractive in the eyes of users.

Let's pay attention to other advantages of gas water heaters:

1. Open chamber models are independent of the power supply.
2. Turbocharged devices with a closed chamber are economical and efficient, since they are equipped with a multi-stage or modulation burner, whose power is automatically regulated depending on the load.
3. The gas heater takes up little space due to its small size. It is not a problem to harmoniously fit it into the interior of any kitchen.

The best columns are not nearly as efficient as electric heaters. Their efficiency does not exceed 90%, although in practice this is invisible.

You may ask: if everything is so good with gas water heaters, then why do many owners of private houses and apartments buy and install electric boilers? This is due to the shortcomings of the columns, of which there are few, but they are quite significant:

1. The device gives out the amount of water specified in the passport, heated by a certain amount (delta). For example, a 21 kW Neva 4511 gas water heater can provide a flow rate of 11 l / min when the water is heated at 25 ° C. If water comes into the house with a temperature of only 10 ° C, then heating it to 35 ° C will be enough for only one consumer. And with a delta of 40 ° C, the flow rate becomes much less - 7 l / min. To increase it to at least 8.5 l / min, you need more power - 28 kW and a more expensive heater.
2. You can't just buy, install and connect a gas water heater. It is necessary to coordinate the installation of gas-using equipment with the management company and complete the project, and to connect it to hire an installation company, whose personnel has the appropriate "crusts" and permits.
3. When gas is burned, combustion products are formed, which require removal into or through a coaxial pipe.
4. When the pressure in the water supply falls below a certain level, the water heater will turn off.

Now that all the pros and cons are well known, let's move on to choosing a water heating device.

What to choose - a boiler or a column

The first thing that worries the average user when choosing any product is the price. But an electric storage water heater and a gas water heater are completely different devices in their principle of operation. This means that a comparison of their cost can be carried out only on one basis - the ability to provide hot water for a family of 3 people.

For example, let's take fairly reliable devices of the middle price category - an instantaneous heater from the NEVA brand and a Gorenje 50 liter boiler. That's what came out of it:

Notes:

1. If we take a gas water heater from the Gorenje brand for comparison, then it will cost even less than the Neva - about 135 USD. e.
2. The table shows the electric power of the boiler, but it is almost equal to the heat.

Output. At the price of the equipment, a water heater that runs on natural gas clearly wins.

Comparison of the complexity of installation and connection

This criterion plays an important role, because it is associated with certain costs - financial and time. When comparing, we will not take into account the supply of cold and hot water, it is present in both cases. Features of the installation of different water heaters are described in the comparative table:

Output. Although some difficulties arise when installing a heavy and oversized boiler, in general it is much easier and cheaper to install and connect it than a gas water heater. Storage heater if desired, put it yourself.

Ease of use

Having analyzed all the pros and cons of the operation of household water heating devices, we will collect them in one list:

1. The column heats up the water immediately after opening the tap, which is very comfortable. The boiler takes time to prepare water - from 1 to 3 hours, depending on its temperature and the volume of the tank.
2. The accumulator gives a high flow rate and provides several consumers at once. When tapping at 2-3 points, the column does not have time to heat the water and its temperature drops.
3. The flow-through gas heater heats up the water for an unlimited time. The duration of supply from the boiler depends on its capacity.

When talking about exploitation, do not forget about equipment maintenance. In this regard, an electric storage water heater is more reliable, since it only needs to periodically clean the tank and replace the anode. Gas water heaters are complex devices, and not everyone can repair them.

Output. It is still more convenient to use flow-through devices, provided that they have enough thermal power for all needs. Maintenance and repair is another matter; in this regard, the maintenance of the boiler will be cheaper.


The maintenance work of a gas-using water heating apparatus should be entrusted to a specialist

So which is better to choose - a flow heater or a storage heater? The answer depends on many conditions:

1. If you are limited in time and money, it is better to install a boiler. The higher price of the equipment is compensated by the costs of connection and paperwork required for the commissioning of the dispenser.
2. When gas is not supplied to an apartment or a private house, it makes no sense to buy a flow-through water heater.
3. With high water consumption for hot water needs, it is more comfortable to use the boiler, you just need to accurately guess the time when it reaches its maximum temperature.
4. Having no more than 2 points of water intake (for example, in an apartment) and just as successfully guessing with the sequence of use, you can just as successfully use a gas water heater for heating. This is more convenient than waiting for a 50-liter tank to warm up.
5. A gas water heater is the only alternative when the electricity limit does not allow connecting heating equipment to the network or there are frequent outages.

There is one more factor that can be assessed in different ways - the price of gas and electricity. In the Russian Federation, the cost of gas is low, and therefore it is more profitable to install a column. In Ukraine, the picture is different: there the price of natural gas is comparable to that of electricity, any gas-using equipment will noticeably “beat the pocket” of the owner of a private house or apartment.

Leading European and domestic companies produce automatic and semi-automatic flow-through gas boilers. Modern speakers bear little resemblance to those used in the 60s of the last century. When immediately after washing it was necessary to run and turn off the boiler. Modern semi-automatic dispensers differ from fully automatic models only in the principle of ignition used.

When deciding on the choice of a suitable water heater, the following aspects must be considered:

• price;
• ease of use;
• principle of operation;
• the pros and cons of each model.

Column vending machine - what is it

All built-in functions: flame modulation, automatic temperature control and others are present regardless of the type of ignition used. For this reason, it would be a hasty and erroneous opinion to argue that a semiautomatic device is unambiguously worse.

How automatic speakers work

• there is only one gas burner in the device;
• when the hot water tap is opened, water enters the reducer connected to the gas valve and the electric ignition unit;
• the generated pressure drives the rod, giving a signal to supply gas and generate a spark that ignites the gas;
• after the DHW tap is closed, boilers with automatic switching on and off completely extinguish.

In the latest generation water heaters, ignition is carried out using a hydraulic turbine. Auto ignition uses electricity generated from the movement of water. The rest of the work of the column is identical to the one that runs on batteries.

On the outside of the casing there is a mechanical or sensor control unit: two levers that change the pressure of gas and water supplied to the burner and heat exchanger. The settings are constant and do not change during the heating process. When the pressure changes, the intensity of heating the liquid changes.

The geyser with automatic regulation of the water temperature has a modulating burner. The consumer sets the required intensity of DHW heating, which radically changes the purpose of the control automation. The sensors monitor any changes and, with less or more water pressure, automatically adjust the burner operation so that the set temperature is at the outlet of the hot water supply. As a rule, such speakers have an electronic control board.

Pros and cons of electronic speakers

• Efficiency - in the process of heating water, the columns burn the same amount of gas as semi-automatic models. The costs are lower due to the fact that there is no constantly burning ignition wick.
• Ease of use- automatic gas flow-through boilers turn on independently when opening the hot water tap and turn off immediately after it is closed. On the external front panel there is an LED display connected to the temperature sensors and showing the temperature.
  It is not difficult to set up an automatic gas water heater, just turning the knobs to change the water pressure or gas pressure, focusing on the digital heating value. Electronically controlled models are equipped with a touch panel for added comfort.

Boilers with a flame modulation function have automatic temperature control, but this plus applies to similar models with semi-automatic ignition. If we talk about the shortcomings, then the price of the equipment comes to the fore. The cost of a gas water heater will be 30-50% more. The reason for the high price is associated with the ignition unit and the electronic temperature controller present in the device.

A second drawback is associated with the listed nodes. As statistics show, most often, water heater breakdowns occur due to malfunctions in the ignition unit and the regulator. The causes of malfunctions from the most commonplace: the batteries have run down (they will have to be changed every few months) to complex ones: the spark production unit has failed.

Popular models of automatic speakers

• Hyundai H-GW1-AMW-UI305 / H-GW1-AMBL-UI306- simple classic model with electric ignition and basic functions. Changing the heating temperature is carried out using rotary mechanical knobs. Differs in beautiful and stylish appearance.
• Ariston Gi7S 11L FFI - the column is equipped with a touch control, can operate on natural and liquefied gas. The body is made of stainless steel. There is a turbocharged modulation burner, a closed combustion chamber.
• Electrolux GWH 10 High Performance- ignition from the mains. The control unit is mechanical. A screen for displaying the heating temperature is installed on the external panel.
• Ariston NEXT EVO SFT 11 NG EXP- gas water heater with flame modulation. Powered by a household power supply of 220 V. It has a closed combustion chamber, an anti-freeze system. Touch panel control.
• Edisson P 24 MD - model with modulating heating control. There is a convenient function of memorizing the temperature. The column will automatically heat the water up to the parameters used when it was last turned on. There is a self-diagnosis system and multi-stage protection against overheating and gas leakage.
• BOSCH WTD 18 AME - a column with a closed combustion chamber and forced removal of combustion products. Combustion modulation is carried out within 60-100% of the rated power.

Semi-automatic column - what is it

The main difference is that human intervention is required when starting the water heater. After lighting the wick, the column works as an automatic machine. The igniter is ignited with matches (in older models) or a piezoelectric element.

How does a semiautomatic column work

• Switching on - before using it, you must ignite the wick. The igniter will burn continuously and ignite the main burner. To turn on the semiautomatic column, you need to perform the following steps:
  1. put gas on the igniter;
  2. wait 10-15 seconds;
  3. set fire to the wick using the piezo ignition button;
  4. without pressing the gas supply button, wait another 20 seconds;
  5. release the key, the wick should continue to burn.
  Automation of semi-automatic water heaters works like. When heated, static electricity is generated, which clamps the valve. After reaching the required temperature, the wick will continue to burn until the gas supply is manually turned off.
• After lighting the wick, you can also light a semi-automatic geyser like an automatic machine. It is enough to open the hot water tap and the main burner will start. After the DHW is closed, the fire goes out.

The principle of operation of semi-automatic gas water heaters and their internal structure are largely identical to automatic water heaters. The only difference is that the ignition is carried out by means of a constantly lit wick.

Advantages and disadvantages of a semiautomatic device

• simplicity of the device;
• lack of expensive electronics;
• low cost compared to automatic speakers.

• It is less convenient to use semi-automatic gas flowing water heaters than automatic counterparts. You will have to light the wick every day in the morning, which is left to burn constantly.
• The igniter consumes about 0.8 m³ of gas per day.

The best semi-automatic speaker models

• Vaillant AtmoMAG exclusiv 14-0 RXZ- a powerful column for the simultaneous provision of two points of draw-off. Throughput 14 l / min. On the outer front side there is a mechanical control unit and a piezo ignition button.
• Teplox GPVS-10 is a flow-through column powered by a wick. The water heating temperature is displayed. There is a "summer-winter" mode. Adjustment is carried out using twisting knobs that change the pressure of water and gas.
• Mora Vega 10 is a simple and reliable speaker for household needs. Suitable for providing DHW for one point of consumption. Throughput 10l / min.

• BOSCH WR 15-2P - semi-automatic column with flame modulation function. Atmospheric combustion chamber. Productivity 15 l / min. Suitable for providing multiple taps.
• Baxi SIG-2 11p is another model with automatic maintenance of the set temperature by means of flame modulation. The column in automatic mode maintains the set water heating temperature. Changes the combustion power at pressure drops in the supply pipeline. The display shows the temperature of water heating.

Conclusion - automatic or semi-automatic?

• Cost - The price of a semi-automatic speaker is almost 50% cheaper. If there are no extra funds and a budget model of a gas boiler is needed, then there will be no better option. An automatic gas water heater of good quality starts from 25-30 thousand rubles.
• Efficiency - modulation of the flame in the column is available both in the automatic column and in the semi-automatic analogue. A constantly burning wick spends about 0.8 m³ per day, which is quite wasteful, additional costs per month will amount to 24 m³.
• Ease of use- the automatic device differs from the semiautomatic device in the principle of ignition. The constant need for a wick somewhat reduces the comfort of using models with piezoelectric elements.
• Ease of operation- even with the help of the operating instructions supplied by the manufacturer, it is not easy to learn how to use a semi-automatic dispenser. Automatic water heaters work independently of the person. They turn on and off when opening / closing the DHW tap.
• Reliability - the undisputed leadership is occupied by semi-automatic boilers, in which there is simply nothing to break. Only some of the gaskets are subject to wear and can be easily replaced with technical skills on their own. Automatic boilers have a sensitive ignition unit and automation that requires repairs on average every 4-5 years.

You will find more than 50 types of gas water heaters in the catalog of the Plumber-Online online store. We offer flow-through and storage gas models for floor or wall mounting.

Depending on power and productivity, gas water heaters serve from one to several points of extraction. They create comfortable conditions for families from 2-3 to 7 or more people. The nominal power of gas boilers for heating water is from 2 to 50 kW. Heating elements and heat exchangers serve as a heating element. Auto ignition in domestic gas water heaters is carried out in the following ways:

• electronic;
• piezo;
• piezoelectric.

Using a gas water heater, you do not have to waste time waiting. Immediately after turning the tap, the equipment will turn on and hot water will flow from the tap.

Features of control of devices

Vertically oriented water heaters for the home are controlled by mechanical turn signals or an electronic panel with buttons. All devices have a built-in gas control to prevent accidental fuel leakage.

Where is it profitable to buy a gas water heater for an apartment or house?

Purchase gas heating equipment through our website. We sell products of European, Asian and domestic brands at an attractive price. We provide comfortable payment terms and deliver purchases throughout Russia.

The branded cheap water heater has high performance, has stylish original body, is one of the necessary design elements of the interior of the room. In the rating of water heating devices, they are very popular cheap instantaneous gas boilers world famous brands: English Edisson, Italian Zanussi, Superlux, German Bosch, Vaillant, Roda, Russian Gazlux, Neva, Serbian Gorenje. A high-quality, inexpensive, flow-through household gas appliance for heating water is capable of providing an infinite amount of hot water to a tap. Also, a high-performance modern gas boiler can be used as a powerful auxiliary heater in an autonomous heating system. An original device for heating water of this type is provided with a multilevel system of safe operation for a long period, and can operate in several modes.

We recommend purchasing a high-quality flow-through water heater with a proprietary manufacturer's warranty in special stores or dealerships!