Geysers are essential appliances today, with almost every Indian home having at least one in its bathrooms. Different types of geysers are available on the market, including immersion rod heaters, instant geysers, storage water heaters, gas water heaters, etc.
The Questions To Ponder
All the geysers mentioned above ate suitable for the Indian bathroom. But, our discussion is to help determine which geysers are ideally suited for the purpose. So, let us begin by answering some simple questions. The answers will lead us to our verdict easily.
How many people would use the bathroom daily in your house for bathing?
Generally, an Indian nuclear family comprises three to four members. Single individuals or couples need not invest large sums of money in installing storage water heaters. An instant water heater can do the job better. Besides, A.O. Smith offers an innovative product in the tankless geyser. This appliance provides hot water directly from the tap within no time. So, such persons can go for an instant water heater.
Read: Water Heater Size Calculator
If they wish to install a storage water heater, the 6L water heaters should be sufficient. The instant water heaters can deliver 1L to 3L of hot water, depending on their capacity.
Families having more than two members can invest in storage water heaters. These appliances are available in various capacities, ranging from 6L to 25L. Higher capacities up to 35L are also available for larger families. However, you should note that storage water heaters are available in massive sizes of 100L or more. These geysers are better suited for hotels, marriage halls, hostels, lodges, etc.
How much water does a person need for a hot water bath?
Typically, a person requires around 15 to 16 liters of hot water for a bath. The average hot water consumption in a regular Indian household will be approximately 60 liters per day. Under such circumstances, which geyser should be ideal for the bathroom?
The instant geysers can provide a maximum of 3L of hot water at a time. However, the appliance offers this water instantly within two minutes, depending on how cold the water source is. The water is sufficiently hot to cater to one person’s bathing requirement. So, installing instant water heaters should not be an issue. However, there should be a time gap of two to three minutes between two persons to allow the appliance to heat the water sufficiently.
Alternatively, the household can install a 15L or 25L storage water heater. However, these appliances take more time to heat the water. Usually, it will take 15 to 20 minutes for 15L or 25L of water to become sufficiently hot to cater to the entire household. Here, we presume that an individual does not use more than three to four liters of hot water at a time. Then, of course, you must use cold water to reduce the hot water temperature to comfortable levels.
But, the situation changes if you use a shower to take a bath. A hot water shower bath can consume up to 25L of water for one person. Accordingly, you can decide which appliance to use.
Instant geysers and storage geysers are suited for bathrooms if you use tap water for bathing. But, if you prefer a shower bath, we recommend using a storage water geyser. Instant water heaters are not preferable under such circumstances.
How much space is available for the geyser in your bathroom?
The average Indian middle-class bathroom is small, with the height generally not exceeding eight feet. Under such circumstances, installing 25L storage water heaters can be challenging. The 10L to 15L appliance should be ideal.
A.O. Smith offers a 25L horizontal tank storage water heater. That should not be a problem. Some houses have lofts placed over the bathroom. The horizontal water heaters can fit inside these lofts.
In comparison, instant water heaters do not require much space. They can comfortably fit into the Indian bathrooms.
Suppose you have multiple bathrooms in your home. Under such circumstances, the storage water heaters are the best-equipped appliances. However, you must make infrastructural changes to the plumbing arrangement to fit one geyser and provide hot water to all the bathrooms and the kitchen. Under such circumstances, storage water heaters are the only options available. Instant geysers are not suitable for multi-point availability.
How much maintenance costs do these geysers incur?
Generally, instant geysers do not require much maintenance costs. This is because they do not have a large storage tank. The heating element is the only component that might require maintenance because hard water content can cause salt formation on the element. However, modern-day instant heaters like Havells, Crompton, and others feature Incoloy glass-coated heating elements that do not allow salt formation.
So, these heating elements last long. However, one should install these geysers carefully because water leakage can happen.
The storage water heaters have storage tanks ranging from 6L to 25L. Earlier, the tanks used to be made of plastic or porcelain. Today, the latest water heaters use glass-lined technology like Blue Diamond coating, Titanium coating, and similar technologies to prevent corrosion. Besides, the water tanks have a single weld structure to reduce the chances of leakage.
Storage water heaters have a protective layer of fiberglass wool or PUF between the inner tank and the exterior body. This insulation layer prevents the heat from escaping from the tank and maintains the water hot for three to four hours comfortably. In addition, the PUF layer is sturdier than the fiberglass wool.
Maintenance-wise, there are no issues because these appliances come with warranties.
What are the safety features?
Geysers are in contact with water all the time. Hence, there is a danger of short circuits and electric shocks. However, modern-day geysers come with sufficient insulation to protect from shocks. Other risks include excess pressure buildup inside the appliance leading to blasts.
Alternatively, excessively hot water can cause burns. All geysers feature a pressure release valve that releases pressure and does not allow excess buildup inside the appliance. Water heaters feature a thermostat arrangement that switches off the power supply to the device if the water temperature exceeds the pre-set settings.
Hence instant and storage water heaters are safe to use. However, it is better to check the earthing before you install the geysers. Incorrect or inadequate earthing can cause electric shocks.
Immersion rod heaters are the riskiest of all the appliances discussed here. They can become hot and cause electric shocks if you touch the water while functioning. Therefore, it would be best to be careful when children are around these immersion heaters.
Power Consumption
Instant heaters feature 3KW or 4.5KW heating elements to provide hot water instantly. In contrast, the storage water heaters feature 2KW heating elements. However, these devices consume similar power because the storage water heaters take time to heat the water. Usually, they function for 15 to 20 minutes. On the other hand, instant geysers do not take more than 2 to 3 minutes.
The top-quality water heaters feature 4-star or 5-star BEE ratings. Hence, both these devices are economical. In contrast, immersion rod heaters consume more power.
Read: Instant vs Storage Geyser
Pricing
Instant water heaters are comparatively lesser priced than storage water heaters.
Verdict
You can use instant and storage water geysers for bathrooms. However, instant geysers are better suited for kitchens and washbasins where you need hot water immediately. Storage geysers are ideal for bathrooms. I prefer to install storage water heaters in bathrooms because they are comparatively versatile to instant geysers.