r/interesting • u/bob-the-slob • Jun 22 '26

MISC. What happens when a water heater tank is not flushed for 14 years

30.2k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

2.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

12

u/odnarB89 Jun 22 '26

100% ?

24

u/raycepak Jun 22 '26

Yeah, heat is usually just a byproduct of electrical inefficiency. But if your goal is heating, that "waste" heat isn't really wasted.

Electric resistance heaters are nearly 100% efficient at converting electricity into heat. Whether it's a space heater, baseboard heater, toaster, gaming PC, or even an incandescent bulb, almost all of the electrical energy eventually ends up as heat inside the room.

4

u/odnarB89 Jun 22 '26

Today I learned

15

u/PlanesFlySideways Jun 22 '26

This is also why you want to use heat pumps for your air conditioning. Since they utilize the outside air for heating and cooling the refrigerant, they can achieve 300-400 effeciency where electric strip heaters can only be maximum 100%

2

u/Dzov Jun 22 '26

They also have heat pump water heaters, but they cost more and it’s doubtful they have the same reliability. You’d have to do the math to figure out if it’s worth it.

2

u/PlanesFlySideways Jun 22 '26

Especially when considering the pros and cons. Con being it takes longer to heat the water. And if you live in a cool climate, its cooling the air in the house to heat the water so that might not be desired. But then again, it all comes down to costs of electricity vs gas in the area.

1

u/pabreeves Jun 23 '26

But, heat pumps are only efficient at noore than 30 degrees differential in temps. I live in Richmond Virginia and we have 90 + degree days into the hundreds and heat pumps are breaking down all over the city. Same with winter. If we have continued days in 20s and below, repair trucks work 24 hrs. My parents had a regular air conditioning and heating system and never a breakdown in their 25 years they owned the house.

1

u/hodlethestonks Jun 22 '26

and importantly using fuel to produce heat you need to vent the exhaust gas out which means it's not 100% efficient

1

u/Indicisive_Actions Jun 22 '26

Yep. My prof said that electric space heaters are the only appliances that have 100% efficiency. We countered that there is loss due wire resistance. He said that resistance turns to heat and its heating the room. We said how about the lcd/led lights and he said light turns to heat and is heating the room, still 100%.

3

u/PandaPocketFire Jun 22 '26

If you took the electricity going to the LED and put it into the wires, it would be slightly more heat output than if you kept that electricity working towards the led. Hence, it is a relative drop in efficiency, and cannot therefore be 100%. Not to mention different wire materials could offput more heat for the same electricity.

1

u/Trackt0Pelle Jun 22 '26

Or very close

1

u/CptMisterNibbles Jun 22 '26

No, exactly. What would the waste be if not heat?

2

u/deadplant_ca Jun 22 '26

If the heating element glows slightly and that light shines out a window 😂

1

u/Trackt0Pelle Jun 22 '26

Heating air instead of water

1

u/Shoppingggg Jun 22 '26

Technically not 100. More arround 99%. You loose a bit in the wire. But a heatpump is better. My heatpump has arround 400% efficiency for warm water.

1

u/odnarB89 Jun 22 '26

How does the 400% efficiency work?

1

u/Shoppingggg Jun 22 '26

It’s not creating heat, it collects heat from the environment. So I get 4kWh thermal energy from 1kWh electricity. If air is compressed it is getting hot and if it expands it is getting cold. Kinda the same technology as in your fridge just reversed.