This is part of my Making Of Our Dream Home series. Click to read the other entries in the series.
There are several questions a new homeowner has to ask himself before renovation starts – “Curtains or blinds?”, “Aircon or fan?”, “Granite or Quartz?”, “Visible or invisible grilles?’, “Normal or digital lock?”, “Built-in or standard wardrobes?”, “Storage or instant heaters?”…. way too many decisions to make, and every one determines the degree of happiness living in the new home in the future. I will tackle each of these considerations in the coming months on the blog as I share our thoughts and concerns in the decision-making process.
So what are the factors we need to consider when deciding whether to go for Storage or Instant Heaters for our home? There are generally 3 main considerations: Household Needs, Lifestyle & Budget. Let’s take a look at them one by one:
1. Household Needs
The main difference between storage and instant heaters is that the former supplies to more than one water point/ location, while the latter supplies to only one bathroom/toilet. If you need hot water to be supplied to your wash basins, kitchen sink and other parts of the house as well, then storage heater is the way to go because instant heaters cannot do that. Wash basins with two-way taps (where you can turn one side for hot water and the other side for cold water) are supplied with storage heaters. There are households that prefer to use warm water to wash their dishes, and some people generally like to use warm water to wash their faces etc – All these are reasons why people install storage heaters. Depending on the capacity of your storage heater, you can have a tank of readily hot water at your disposal for the entire house.
An instant heater, on the other hand, supplies hot water only to one bathroom/toilet, and only to the shower point. The wash basin in that toilet will not have hot water supplied to it. If your household does not require hot water to be supplied to any other points, then instant heater will suffice for your needs. Compared to a storage heater, an instant heater is much smaller in size of course.
2. Lifestyle Needs
A storage heater takes time to heat up the water – The bigger capacity, the longer time is needed. If you have a super hectic lifestyle where you have to rush every morning, storage heater may not be as instantaneous as you like. Some households leave the heater switch on 24/7, but that really will be very taxing on your pocket. So generally most people will switch on the heater only when they need it, so 10-15 minutes is required for the whole tank of water to be heated up. If you are always be in a rush, storage heaters may frustrate you, or you may end up bathing with only lukewarm water most of the time.
Storage heaters are bigger in size and takes up more space in the toilet, though the newer models now look sleek and aesthetically-pleasing as we can see below. This storage heater from Ariston has a 30-litre capacity but looks nice and pretty anyway. Storage heaters are a must too if you are using rainshower in your bathroom because the water power is much stronger for storage heaters compared to instant heaters. Because water is already stored and ready to be used, the water pressure is not affected by taps switched on at other parts of the house, which is a problem I face in my current house (and it’s extremely frustrating). The shower experience is bleh if the washing machine is switched on, or if someone is washing something at the kitchen sink. The water pressure becomes extremely low in the shower!
3. Budget
Budget may not be a critical issue when choosing heaters for your house, but nonetheless still something you should consider. Storage heaters are more expensive during purchase, but it supplies to more than one water point. Instant heaters are cheaper but you need to install more units – One for every bathroom. Electricity consumption is another factor to be considered – If you leave the storage heater switched on 24/7, it can incur very high electricity bills because the whole tank will reheat itself to keep warm all the time. Instant heaters are switched on only when it’s in use, so it consumes lesser electricity. However, I’ve got friends who share that they only switch on their storage heater as and when they need it, and try to get everyone in the family to bathe around the same time so that there is no need to switch it on several times. That will save electricity costs, for sure, but takes a lot of discipline and coordination in my opinion. I’m not sure how feasible that is – I guess I’ll know when I start living in the new house!
Piping is another issue that needs to be considered. Storage heaters require piping to be done so that the hot water can be supplied to different parts of the house, while instant heaters do not require that. Piping can be a rather expensive cost, especially if you failed to factor that in your initial budget. For a resale flat like mine, because the previous owner has already installed storage heater and therefore all the necessary piping, I do not need to fork out extra money to do up more piping. However, if you are switching from an instant heater to a storage heater, this is something you need to factor into your budget.
So, what’s our decision?
For our new house therefore, I will be installing a storage heater for the second level which will supply hot water to two bathrooms (as well as the sinks) and other water points in the house (kitchen sink for example), as well as an instant heater in my common toilet on the first level. In that way, if anyone is in a rush to bathe, they can bathe on the first level. Otherwise, generally I’d prefer to enjoy the rainshower on the second level (and make up for all that I’ve missed out in the last ten years in this current house). =P
Here’s a simple summary which I hope can help you when deciding whether to go for Storage or Instant Heater:
Photo credits: Ariston
