If you are looking at replacing your broken down water heater, you might want to consider going with an inline water heater. These heaters are also called tankless water heaters or on-demand heaters. Instead of having a large water heater with a tank that can hold many gallons of water, an inline heater is installed directly into your hot water supply line. Inside the heater, there are tubes that run in between heating coils. The water runs through the tubes while the heating coils heat it up, creating the hot water you want. There are some benefits to using one of these water heaters. 

More Energy Efficient

One benefit is that an inline water heater is more energy-efficient. That means that it can help you be more environmentally friendly and it can help you keep your energy bills down. The reason that it's more energy efficient is that the heater is only on when you need hot water. A water heater with a tank has to periodically turn on so that the water in the tank stays at the desired temperature, which is a waste of energy since that water isn't going anywhere. But if the heater coils only turn on when you need it, then you aren't wasting energy. 

More Hot Water

When you have a water heater with a tank, you have limited hot water. If the tank holds 40 gallons of water, then when you've used that 40 gallons, you don't have any more hot water, and towards the end of that amount, your hot water is more likely to be tepid than actually hot. That's because as the hot water gets pulled out of the water heater tank, new water gets pulled in, and that water is going to be cold. When it mixes with whatever water is already in the tank, it cools that water down. So you have to wait until the heater can get the water warm again. But, with a tankless water heater, the water is continually running through the heaters when you turn on the hot water knob. That means that you don't have to worry about running out of hot water, because it is getting heated up as you demand it. 

If you are going to get a new water heater, think about using an inline water heater instead of one that has a tank. Talk to a plumber to learn more about your options.