Unlike a gas-fueled water heater, an electric water heater utilizes electricity to heat water in a receptacle or through a pipe. As the heated water rises, it also moves through the pipe or pumped out of storage.
Since this type of heating doesn’t utilize coal or natural gas, it doesn’t release toxic air into the environment. An electric water heater may depend entirely on the electricity grid for its power, or it may obtain a significant part of its energy from a solar water heating system.