Brad K: What regulations/laws must be complied with in the design of an electric water heater?
Just wondering…I have seen so many electric water heaters on the market and I just want to know if they are safe with the excessive amount of power that is used to heat the water.
What regulations/laws etc must be complied with in the design of an electric water heater?
Answers and Views:
Answer by Brandonh
Of course they are safe, however electric water heaters are not so efficient. Get a natural gas/propane thankless water heater.
They use about 3000+ watts i think and are 220 VAC.
I don’t know the regulations that go into making one though.
Answer by ishootbirds2all modern water heaters are safe to use and they are all about 19% efficient. the energy star ones are not any more efficient turning electricity into heat but they hold that heat longer and therefore the heaters are on less.
about 3500 watts for a 45 gallon energy star rated electric water heater. turn the thermostat down to 130 degrees to reduce electricity use and reduce the accidental chance of scalding yourself or others. do not block or modify any of the valves.
gas ones are a bit more efficient and cleaner too, as its either propane, methane or natural gas. Its still a bit cleaner than electricity thats roughly 20% made from burning coal and wood. methane is completely natural (waste discomposing) and natural gas’s only pollutant is water.
the solar ones uses no electricity or gas at all to heat water, but are limited to the tanks capacity as it uses heat captured all day to heat a small quantity of water. once that water is gone there’s no more until tomorrow evening. But its very green. don’t know how much you really save on $ $ though, they’re quite expensive.
better still are the tankless heat-on demand systems. very expensive, but no energy is used to keep the water hot because its tankless and it only uses power when you want hot water. downside is that you’ll need one per bathroom and a separate one in the kitchen. maybe $ 500 each and 2450 watts I think.
water heater regs-
there are location specific requirements, on where you place the heater and how its installed. generally earthquake straps are recommended or required, and it must be with x inches clearance from the floor and ceiling.
safety systems-
overload protection, element(s) will not use more pwoer than designed
fuse, optional
circuit breaker, optional
thermostat, keeps water to x temp is this fails the water may turn to steam and brings in the next feature
steam release valve, if there’s too much temp and pressure builds up beyond normal operation pressure this valve will open and steam will be released. some heaters will have a second or third valve too in case the main one fails.
emergency drain valve, generally a backup to the pressure release valve but also if you need to drain it for other reasons, like maintenance or you want to move the heater.
two valves you absolutely must never block, and don’t put anything valuable nearby: emergency pressure release and drain valve. if say the thermostat fails and the water is turned to steam, and both valves fail to open, the heater will explode. if you’re nearby (like same room) you’ll be badly burned and possibly die. this used to be a huge problem with early water heaters, the water can turn to steam and the tank can burst, leveling the house and the heater shoots up like a rocket a couple hundred feet. Youtube has one such video of a heater intentionally made to explode. And that’s only with a small water heater.
Ever since the valve was invented and every heater had one installed for obvious safety reasons, incidents have been exceedingly rare, less than one occurrence per 10 years in all 1st world nations. So don’t block those valves and if they get rusty have a plumber check to make sure they still work.
any certified or licensed plumber or water heater installer will install your appliance to comply with all laws. don’t worry about that.
Leave a Reply