It’s six in the morning, and you’ve got to get ready for work. You need to hop in the shower, brush your teeth, and get breakfast. There’s one problem: Your roommate used all the hot water.
Now you’re stuck wondering how long does it take for hot water to come back. Surely it can’t be that long before you can have your shower?
Keep reading to find out Why the hot water is gone and why the kinds of water heater matter when talking about reheating your water.
Why Is There No Hot Water?
All the hot water is gone because your hot water heater needs recovery time before it can produce more hot water. Recovery time is how long it takes for the water heater to warm water in its tank.
The lower your heater’s recovery time is, the less time it takes before you’ve got hot water again.
Why the Type of Water Heater Matters
Water heater recovery time depends on tank size and its first-hour rating (how much water it can heat in an hour). User temperature preference determines how long your water takes to warm as well.
It will take longer for the water to heat if your preferred temperature is much higher than the water entering the tank. But did you know that hot water heater fuel types also affect recovery time?
So How Long Does It Take for Hot Water to Come Back?
Electric water heaters are standard in homes, but they don’t heat as efficiently as gas-powered heaters. A gas heater could warm a 40-gallon tank in about 40 minutes.
An electric heater will take approximately an hour to warm 40 gallons of water. Tankless water heaters are the best answer to how long hot water heaters take.
A tankless heater has no lag time between needing hot water and getting it. Get a tankless heater if you don’t want to deal with recovery time. You can easily buy water heater online if you need one.
Solar heaters have a relatively long recovery time at an hour and 30 minutes for a 40-gallon tank.
Heat pump (or hybrid) water heaters are electrical heaters with more efficient energy savings settings. Hybrid heaters leave you with no hot water during a two-hour recovery time.
However, heat pumps have settings that lower the recovery time from an hour to 80 minutes.
How to Get Hot Water Again
You can do a few things to get your hot water back. The first option is to wait for the water tank to refill and reheat. You can also check your heater thermostat settings.
Something else to consider is that your hot water heater is past its expiration date. Conventional heaters like electric and gas models last an average of ten years. A tankless water heater has a life expectancy of 20 years.
Got Your Hot Water Heater Fix?
With this helpful water heater guide, you won’t have to stand around wondering how long does it take for hot water to come back. How long you’re stuck waiting for hot water depends on the recovery time. The types of hot water heater you’re using, and tank size are two factors that determine recovery time.
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