Gas Water Heater Options
Whether you are replacing an existing water heater or remodeling, there is a natural gas water heater to meet your needs. Listed below are the main types of natural gas water heaters, starting with the most basic unit.
Atmospheric-vent Natural Gas Water Heaters
These are the standard gas water heaters that have been serving millions of homeowners for years. They use room air for combustion and exhaust. The exhaust chimney is installed to a draft hood that sits slightly above the tank. These water heaters use 'gravity' (rising warm air) to exhaust combustion by-products and are vented through the roof. Often the exhaust vent is connected to the furnace vent and they share the same chimney.
Benefits of Atmospheric-vent Natural Gas Water Heaters
The benefits of this water heating include a compact unit design, quick recovery, an excellent safety record, low operating costs, high efficiency, and environmental friendliness.
Power-vent Natural Gas Water Heaters
These water heaters are the same as the atmospheric models, but with a reengineered exhaust system. The exhaust vent is made from PVC plastic rather than metal, has a blower installed to assist the expulsion of combustion by-products, and can be vented through either the roof or a sidewall.
Benefits of Power-vent Natural Gas Water Heaters
This unit offers all the benefits of natural gas, plus flexible installation. It requires no chimney, chase or flue. Because of the power-assisted exhaust, it can be placed up to 40' from where it is vented through a sidewall, making it easy to fit in even the most cramped equipment rooms.
Direct-vent Natural Gas Water Heater
Direct-vent units use no room air at all. Instead, the heater uses a 'gravity' system to pull in outside air for combustion and to exhaust combustion by-products. These units can be vented through a sidewall.
Benefits of Direct-vent Natural Gas Water Heater
Direct-vent water heaters are particularly good for tight construction because they use outside air versus room air for both combustion and exhaust, so they operate independently of other exhaust systems in the house.Powered direct-vent Natural Gas Water Heater
A hybrid, this model combines the features of power- and direct-vent models. Only outside air for both combustion and exhaust is used, with a blower built into the exhaust flue. Because of the power-assisted exhaust, the unit can be placed up to 40 feet from a sidewall. It uses PVC plastic pipe as a venting material.
Benefits of Powered direct-vent Natural Gas Water Heater
This unit is perfect for air-tight construction and offers flexible installation.
Condensing Natural Gas Water Heater
Condensing water heaters are a great choice for larger, high water use homes. They are power assisted and are a good choice for tightly constructed homes or when the customer has a high efficiency furnace. They heat up to 129 gallons per hour (GPH) at 90 degress, compared to 41 GPH for standard water heaters. They are a good alternative to tankless water heaters providing a high capacity of hot water with less maintenance needed to sustain design efficiency and capacity.
Benefits of Condensing Natural Gas Water Heater
These units can achieve 96% thermal efficiency and have quick recovery times. They have much higher capacity than most other water heaters.
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