Gas Hot Water Systems

Gas Hot Water systems come in two different types of heating units, a storage tank type & an instantaneous or continuous flow heating system.

Continuous Flow Gas Hot Water Systems

As the name suggests, gas instantaneous or continuous flow hot water systems heat the water as it flows through the hot water system as shown (see image below). This means that instantaneous gas hot water systems can continuously provide hot water as needed rather than having to heat one tank of water at a time.

Not much larger than a small suitcase mounted on your wall, instantaneous hot water heaters are great room savers, especially with home block sizes getting smaller & smaller

Most gas instantaneous hot water heaters use an electronic ignition requiring a power point to ignite the gas rather than a pilot light which makes them a great gas saver until there is a black out!

Gas Storage Hot Water Systems

Gas storage hot water heaters have a cylinder tank that stores & maintains the water temperature via a thermostatically controlled gas valve (see image below).

Gas Storage vs. Continuous Flow

The key difference between storage and continuous flow hot water systems is that one heats and stores water ready for use, and the other heats water as needed. Each type of hot water system comes with a range of pros and cons, for example, a storage hot water system can only provide as much hot water as can be stored in the tank. After all of the water in the tank has been used up there is a downtime period where hot water will not be available.

Conversely, a continuous flow hot water system heats water on demand and can provide an endless flow of hot water. But the trade off is that when multiple hot water outlets are used at the same time it can affect the flow rate as the system can only heat so much water at once.