As you start to look at new water heaters, you might notice that some systems have one heating element while others have two. In some cases, a dual-element heater has more advantages. How do these water heaters work? What are their benefits?
How Does a Dual-Element Water Heater Work?
Standard water heaters usually have one heating element. This element is usually located at the bottom of the heater's tank. It warms water from the bottom up.
Dual-element water heaters have two individual elements. One sits at the bottom of the tank and one sits at the top. These elements don't turn on at the same time; however, they do work in tandem.
When your heating turns on, the element at the top of the tank heats its surrounding water. Once this water reaches a set temperature, the top element turns off and the bottom element turns on. It then heats the water in the bottom half of the tank. Once that water is hot enough, the bottom element also turns off.
What Are the Benefits of Dual-Element Water Heaters?
While a water heater with a single element is effective, it isn't always the most efficient way of heating water. These devices take some time to get water in a tank to the right temperature. You have to wait for the heat to build up in the water from the bottom to the top. If you've recently used a lot of hot water, then you could have a long wait until you get more.
Dual-element heaters work faster and give you a more reliable hot water supply. The first element at the top of the tank heats its water fast. So you get some hot water while the base element heats the rest of the tank.
The elements also constantly cycle to keep water at the right temperature setting. So you're less likely to run out of hot water and to have a long wait for the whole tank to heat up again.
Dual-element heaters are also useful if you need to use a larger-capacity water tank. While single element models work well on small tanks, they can take too long to heat up a larger volume of water.
If you use a system with two elements, then each of these heating devices takes on some of the workload. You'll get the constant supply of hot water you need.
To find out more about the benefits of dual-element water heaters, contact water heater services near you.
