A nice soak after a long work week might be your idea of heaven, however if a helpful family member has awakened, run a load of laundry and opened the fridge, your hot water heater has been — and will be — running for quite a while. How long it runs daily depends on lots of variables.
Kinds of Heaters
Classic storage water heaters keep water warm by fire up any time the water at the top of the cylinder — in which water leaves the cylinder — falls below the set temperature. Based on the amount of people of the household, standby tank capacity, temperature setting and amount of shipping piping, a storage heater might run for many minutes every hour. The tankless demand heater heats water only when users call for it. Water heaters run an average of 3 hours a day, but the difference in complete operation time can vary from a couple of hours to get new tankless heaters to five or even more for older standby tanks.
Added Efficiencies
The efficiency rating of the appliance itself and if it is placed in a cold basement or heated area can limit its “burn period .” Placing a demand heater near the appliance which uses the warm water cuts down on heat loss along pipes. Insulation wraps for storage heaters reduce standby heat loss. Insulated pipes limit heat reduction for both, allowing settings that are lower. Efficiencies might limit burn time in a demand heater and decrease standby period in a storage heater.
