May 19, 2011
An electric water heater is an electrically heated hot water storage tank. It has one or more elements that heat the water within the tank. These elements are controlled by one or more thermostats. The thermostats are connected to the power supply of the home through the breaker panel. The water heater comes equipped with a temperature and pressure relief valve (T&P Valve) that is designed to let off excess pressure from the water heater. The heater also has a sacrificial anode rod installed within the heater. Due to the composition of the anode rod, it corrodes before the tank or the elements corrode. These are the basic components that make up a standard hot water heater.