page_title: Water heating
section_title: Types of water heating appliances
hierarchical_section_title: Water heating / Types of water heating appliances
caption_attribution_description: English: Southport, NC, October 4, 1999 -- Elevating utilites, such as this hot water heater, on the ground floor or basement of a home often prevents costly replacement of items after a flood or other high water. Photo By DAVE SAVILLE/ FEMA News Photo
context_page_description: Water heating is a heat transfer process that uses an energy source to heat water above its initial temperature. Typical domestic uses of hot water include cooking, cleaning, bathing, and space heating. In industry, hot water and water heated to steam have many uses.
  Domestically, water is traditionally heated in vessels known as water heaters, kettles, cauldrons, pots, or coppers. These metal vessels that heat a batch of water do not produce a continual supply of heated water at a preset temperature. Rarely, hot water occurs naturally, usually from natural hot springs. The temperature varies with the consumption rate, becoming cooler as flow increases.
  Appliances that provide a continual supply of hot water are called water heaters, hot water heaters, hot water tanks, boilers, heat exchangers, geysers, or calorifiers. These names depend on region, and whether they heat potable or non-potable water, are in domestic or industrial use, and their energy source. In domestic installations, potable water heated for uses other than space heating is also called domestic hot water.
  Fossil fuels, or solid fuels are commonly used for heating water.
context_section_description: Hot water used for space heating may be heated by fossil fuels in a boiler, while potable water may be heated in a separate appliance. This is common practice in the US, especially when warm-air space heating is usually employed.
caption: Electric tank-type storage water heater (US)
exif: {}