We often get asked, “What’s the difference between a boiler and a water heater?” and surprisingly, a lot of homeowners believe they are the same thing. Although they perform some of the same functions, each type of unit operates differently with unique functionality. We’ve broken down everything you need to know about the differences between boilers and water heaters to help you make the right choice.

Water Heaters
Water heaters only have one function, to heat the water you use in your home for showers, cooking, cleaning, and other chores, which is the main difference between them and boilers, as boilers can have many functions. There are two types of water heaters you can choose from, standard tank models or tankless models, and they serve the same function using different methods of operation.

Standard tank models heat water and store it in a reserve tank for when it’s needed, which means they aren’t extremely efficient because they are constantly heating the water. The reservoir tank allows tanked heaters to supply multiple sources at once, but they can only supply a finite amount of hot water before the tank empties.

Tankless water heaters are slightly more expensive, but they heat the water as you need it, which means not only are they the more efficient option, but they also produce an endless supply of hot water. The only downside is they aren’t the best at supplying multiple sources at once, but if you only have a couple of people in your household, they are an excellent and efficient choice.

Boilers
As we mentioned above, the biggest difference between a boiler and a water heater is that many homeowners don’t realize is that boilers can heat your home and your water. Boilers generate radiant heat by heating water and distributing it to radiators and baseboard heaters around your home through a network of pipes. Modern boilers are known for their efficient production of quiet, even heat, and they can also be used to supply heat to heated flooring and heated driveways. In addition to all of their heating features, they can also act as water heaters. Combination boilers, also known as combi-boilers, have a separate plumbing loop so that they can heat the water you use for bathing and consumption without cross-contaminating it with the water used for home heating.

Find the best water heater or boiler for your home at Fahrhall!

The home comfort specialists at Fahrhall have been proudly serving the HVAC needs of the Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent regions for over 50 years. Providing our clients with reliable equipment and quality service is our team of licensed professionals’ number one priority.

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