Even the most energy efficient hot water heater still uses a considerable amount of electricity to heat the water in its tank. Since many of us use large, 50 gallon tanks in our homes, it takes some time to heat all of this water – and a hardly insignificant amount of electricity as well. Thankfully, there are some more energy efficient alternatives on the market which present a good alternative to conventional water heaters with their large tanks.
Before you decide to replace your heater, you may want to think about what sort of new heater you’ll actually need. It may no longer be necessary to use as large of a tank on your new heater. Especially if you’ve had your children move out of the house, you probably don’t really need that 50 + gallon tank anymore.
If your hot water needs are lower than they used to be, then you’ll probably want to think about going with a smaller tank. You can easily find a smaller and more efficient heater with a tank of 40 gallons or less. To further reduce your costs and energy consumption, you may even want to go with one of the newer generation of high efficiency water heater whose design includes heating coils which are situated inside of the tank.
If you need the capacity of a large tank, you may want to consider another alternative to electricity, natural gas. If it is available in your area, you may want to contact the gas company and see what the costs would be to switch over to a gas water heater. You may find it cheaper in the long run, and may also increase to overall value of your home.
Another idea is a tankless water heater, or on demand heater. What a tankless water heater is basically a box with sets of coils running through it. One set of coils has water running through it, and the heating coil wraps around them. As the cold water flows through the chamber, it is heated up to temperature, and comes out as hot water. Electric heaters typically provide hot water at 2-5 gallons per minute, and slightly higher using propane or natural gas.
Tankless heaters have the advantage of being much smaller than a traditional heater, being small enough to install just about anywhere they are needed. The drawback is that since they provide a lower volume of hot water than do tank-style heaters that it can be difficult to use hot water for a shower and a dishwasher at the same time, for instance. An easy workaround for this problem is to simply install more tankless heaters in order to meet your home’s hot water needs.
If you’re planning on having a home constructed for you, then you can build in some energy-saving strategies from the ground up by installing more than one type of water heating system. One such combination would be to use a passive solar water heating system to heat water during the day, while using a tankless heater or heaters when needed, especially at night. You can also lessen your usage of hot water significantly and increase the efficiency of your hot water heater by installing low flow faucets instead of your current faucets.
Find more information on Water Heater options and the top trouble shooting water heater tips – with local service in the MD, VA, DC area, visit: http://www.vitoservices.com
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