Residential Water Heater Sizing
For years, American Water Heaters has manufactured residential water heaters for homes across the country. Our product line includes gas and electric models in multiple sizes to match your household's hot water needs.
Calculate Your Household Hot Water Usage
Water heater sizing starts with counting gallons. How much hot water does your household use?
A typical shower uses 2-2.5 gallons per minute. A standard bathtub holds 40-60 gallons. Your dishwasher uses 6 gallons per cycle.A washing machine uses about 15-30 gallons per load. Add up what you use in your busiest hour (usually morning), and you'll know your peak demand.
The XPERT™ Water Heater Selector Quiz can calculate this for you based on your household size and appliances.
Tank vs. Tankless Water Heaters
Once you know your usage patterns, decide what matters more: having a large reserve of hot water ready to go, or being able to heat water quickly after heavy use.
Storage capacity means you can fill a deep tub or run several showers at once without running out. Once the tank empties, you'll wait while it reheats. The recovery rate is how fast your water heater can bring a new batch of cold water up to temperature.
Tank water heaters excel at storage. Tankless water heaters excel at recovery. If your family takes showers one after another all morning, a tankless unit handles that well. If everyone showers at the same time, a tank gives you the volume you need.
Your answer to this question will tell you both what size you need and what type makes sense for your home.
Water Heater Space Requirements
After understanding your hot water needs and thinking through your priorities, check how much space you have. Tank water heaters need plenty of room for installation. You may put them in basements, garages, or large utility closets where space isn't an issue.
Tankless models save space. They mount on walls and fit in small closets. Before you buy, measure where your water heater will go.
Hot Water Delivery Factors
A water heater alone won't deliver instant hot water to every faucet. Three things control how fast hot water arrives:
- Features: A recirculation pump sends unused hot water back to your heater. This keeps hot water ready in your pipes.
- Location: The closer your water heater is to a faucet, the faster you get hot water. Fewer pipes mean less waiting.
- Temperature: Cold weather slows the flow of hot water. Forty feet of pipe in a cold basement takes longer to deliver hot water than the same pipe in a warm attic.
Still Have Questions?
The right size matches how many people live in your home and when you use the most hot water. Count your household members and consider your morning rush-hour usage.
Use the XPERT™ Water Heater Selector Quiz to easily find what water heater best fits your needs based on your household size and appliances.
Add up the gallons per minute your fixtures and appliances use when they run at the same time. Most showers use 2-2.5 gallons per minute, while dishwashers use about 6 gallons per cycle.
A unit that's too small runs out of hot water when you need it most. A unit that's too large wastes energy heating water you won't use.
Water Heater Selector Quiz
Get it installed by a Local Pro
Why American Water Heaters?
American Water Heaters is one of the nation’s largest manufacturers of water heaters. American is proud to offer a full line of residential and commercial, gas and electric water heaters to meet the needs of the plumbing professional.
American’s dedication to research, development, and sound engineering principles ensure the consistent performance and reliability of our water heating products. Quality and durability you can rely on—year after year.
American is committed to being a reliable partner by providing well-built products and superior customer service, offering customers unmatched product support.
Learn more about how you can partner with American Water Heaters.