How Does a Bidet Get Warm Water? Tank Heated vs Tankless Heated Bidets.

Since bidets connect to the cold water tap beside your toilet, they do not have access to warm water. Even if they could connect to your warm water line, there would still be cold water in the space between your water heater and the bidet. This would obviously do you no good, as you want warm water immediately when you use a bidet.

So you may be wondering, How does a bidet get warm water?

Although you can get a bidet that doesn’t provide warm water washing, most modern bidet toilet seats will come standard with a warm water washing function. The main difference when it comes to warm water bidets is the method used to heat the water.

There are three main ways that bidets can heat the water used to wash with: Tank Heated Water, On-Demand Tankless Heating, or Hybrid Heating.

Today, we will take a look at each type and go over the pros and cons of each.

Bidets With Tank Heated Water

Tank heated water bidets work exactly how they sound. These bidet seats come with a small internal tank or reservoir, which are often located behind the lid and sit on the part of the toilet between the seat and your toilet tank.

These bidet seats work similarly to a water heater. You set the temperature of your water to your liking, and the bidet toilet seat will keep the stored water at your desired temperature.

As you use your bidet, the seat will simply draw water from this heated tank. The warm water usually lasts around 30-60 seconds before slowly cooling and becomes room temperature. It is just like taking a really long shower on a smaller scale.

After the tank is no longer spitting our warm water, it needs to reheat the water before the next wash gives warm water. Thankfully, this only around 5 minutes, unlike your home’s water heater.

Pros

• There is no waiting for the water to warm up. Since the tank holds the water pre-heated, the water is ready to use when you are ready to wash.
• Most tank based heating systems allow you to alter the temperature setting of the bidet water. This is great as it allows you to choose the temperature that you find the most comfortable.
• Most tank based bidets tend to have higher spray pressure. This is due to the tank’s ability to build up pressure inside of the tank. They often have internal water pumps as well. This combination provides a more powerful, cleansing spray.
• Tank heated bidets have been around for a long time, and because of this, the technology has been perfected. They are very reliable and have a low power draw.

Cons

• Limited warm water. Since the tank can only hold so much water, and the space of the tank is fairly small, you will start to run out of warm water in 30-60 seconds.
• They are bulkier than tankless bidet attachments. In order to accommodate the tank or reservoir, they tend to take up a lot of space in the rear of the unit.
• Since they keep the water set at a constant temperature when not in use, they are not as energy efficient as tankless water heating. Some models come with an energy-saving mode to offset this downfall.

Bidets with Tankless Water Heating

As their name implies, tankless water heating bidets do not come with a tank or reservoir to preheat the water. They supply warm water on-demand via a heating element that instantly heats the water stream upon activation.

Since the cold water coming into the bidet is constantly flowing over the heating element, the water will stay at the desired temperature for as long as the user needs it. This also allows the user to adjust the water temperature to their preference mid-stream.

Some users complain of an initial shock of cold water due to the time needed to initially heat the water. I have seen some models that counter this by having a delay before spraying.

Pros

• Unlimited warm water. As mentioned above, because the water is instantly heated as it passes over the heating element, there is no chance of running out of warm water.
• More energy efficient than tank based heating. Even though tankless water bidets require a lot of electricity when powering the heater, it only operates during the few minutes per day that you have the water flowing. There is no energy draw until they are activated to heat the on-demand water.
• Less bulky. Due to the lack of a water reservoir, tankless bidets are slimmer and have a lower profile.
• Temperature adjustments mid-wash. Due to the way they heat water, you can simply change the temperature of the water to your liking instantly.

Cons

• Less water pressure. Spray pressure is usually not as high as tank heated bidets. If you have very low water pressure in your home, this may be more noticeable.
• There is an initial burst of room temperature water upon activation. This is due to the unheated water sitting in the bidet that doesn’t have time to get heated when turned on. It only lasts about 1 second before the warm water kicks in.

Examples

Bidets with Hybrid Heating

While trying the maintain the pros and reducing the cons, hybrid heated bidets attempt to bridge the gap between the tank heated and tankless heated bidets.

Hybrid bidet heating systems are essentially a combination of the two systems above. They come supplied with a small reservoir of pre-heated water, while also containing a heating element found in tankless bidets.

Because of this, hybrid heating bidets can supply immediate warm water coupled with an unlimited supply of warm water for cleansing.

Pros

• Instant AND unlimited warm water.
• Many models often have higher spray pressure than tankless models.

Cons

• Due to the pre-heated reservoir, hybrid systems are not as energy efficient as tankless bidet systems.
• Typically less water pressure than tank heated bidets.

Examples