HYBRID TANKLESS WATER HEATER
What is a Hybrid Tankless Water Heater A Hybrid Tankless Water
Heater is a type of water heating system that combines the
technology traits both from the tank-type water system and the
tankless-water system.
This type of water system instantly heats water as it flows to
the device and does not retain any water internally except for what
is in the heat exchanger coil. Traditional tank heaters heat from
the bottomwith the air rising through the tank and exiting from the
top, allowing a fair amount of heat to be wasted. Tankless models
also heat from the bottom, but the water flows through copper
pipes. However, tankless models don't store water and continually
provide hot water to multiple places in a certain home.
While, hybrid water heater maintains water pressure and
consistent supply of hot water across multiple hot water
applications, and like its tankless cousins, the hybrid is
efficient and can supply a continuous flow of hotwateron demand of
the user.
Why Hybrid Tankless Water Heater Hybrid tankless Water Heater is
popular nowadays. A hybrid tankless water heater can be gas-fired (
natural gas or propane ), or be electrically powered using a
combination of heat pump and conventional electric heating element.
The Hybrid integrates a tankless unit with a small buffer tank to
create a whole new category in water heating. A hybrid has a
patented heat transfer process that utilizes a secondary heat
exchanger to capture the heated flue gas from the tankless unit and
route it back through a buffer tank to extract additional heat.
Consider some benefits of going Hybrid.This is according to State
Waters City. 1. Patented circulation systems delivers 90% thermal
efficiency not bad right ?2. Because of patented circulation , the
system provides the performance of a tankless unit with extremely
quick recovery.3. Smaller than a conventional 50-galloons gas water
heater but with twice the hot water delivery.Another thing is
Hybrid Water heaters have small storage tanks that temper incoming
cold water. It means that these hybrids only have to increase water
temperature from warm to hot as opposed to tankless which has to
raise completely cold water to hot. Most of new hybrid water
heaters vary by the model. Eternal Hybrid, one of the few currently
out on the market, uses multiple passes of the heat and water to
warm up more efficiently. The machine has 44 pipes that heat up,
and the water flows around them for quick heating [source:Eternal
Water Heater]. And, unlike a tankless system, the hybrid heater
contains a certain reservoir to hold some water at all times, so
that the user will never go run out of water.
How Hybrid Tankless Water Heater Will Work
A gas hybrid water heater uses a modulating infrared burner that
is triggered by water-flow or thermostat. The multi-pass heat
exchanger drives heat down then recycles it through baffled pipes
for maximum efficiency. Water fills the reservoir from bottom up
and spreads evenly around the heating pipes, producing continuous
hot water with consistent pressure and temperature.
Now, lets take consider how a Hybrid Electric Water Heater will
work according to Rheem Manufacturing Company:
Rheem air-source heat pump water heaters work much like a
refrigerator in reverse. The heat pump extracts the heat from a
warm air, intensifies the heat with a compressor, delivers the heat
to the water, and exhausts the cooler air . Because it uses the
warm ambient air temperature to do the most of the work , it is a
very efficient way to heat water.
While, the Rinnai Corporations Hybrid Tank work like this :The
Rinnai RH180 Hybrid Tank-Tankless Water Heater is a unique
combination blending the benefits of advanced technology and simple
supply; it pairs an innovative, on-demand tankless system with an
ample 40-gallon storage tank. By design, the system has a large
capacity of hot water as well as technology to help maintain and
quickly replenish the hot water supply.Here are the basics
functions:1. When a hot water fixture (shower, faucet, etc.) is
turned on, heated water exits the system from the top of the tank.
While hot water exits the top of the tank, cold water enters the
system and is directed toward the bottom of the tank.2.
Automatically sensing a change in temperature, the system activates
a pump that draws cooler water located at the bottom of the tank up
and through the heating components of the tankless unit.3. The
heated water exits the tankless unit and is then directed toward
the top of the tank.4. While the fixture is on and cold water
continues to be directed to the bottom of the tank, the tankless
technology continually replenishes the system with hot water.5.
When the hot water fixture is turned off, cold water stops entering
the tank, but the tankless unit continues replenishing hot water
until the selected set temperature is satisfied.The Hybrid Tank
will work in different conditions :
During low-flow situations, the hybrid behaves like a tank-type
heater by having minimum fixed fuel usage and thermostat
activation. Although equipped with some storage capacity, the small
volume minimizes standby fuel usage. Hybrids also share additional
traits with tank-type heaters like a floor-standing installation,
standard PVC venting, draining pan, and they can be installed with
a recirculation pump for even more water efficiency
During high demand, high-flow situations, hybrid technology
behaves more like a tankless heater, with high BTU capacity and
full modulation to supply a continuous stream of hot water across
multiple applications. This produces fuel efficiencies similar to
tankless heaters, but with higher flow capacity.
