If you are like most people, there is a big chance that you will be looking for a new water heater once your existing heater fails. It can happen at the worst possible time, like when you have a guest in your house for a weekend visit. You will have to put in whatever’s available without looking for a warmer that suits your needs and offers real energy efficiency.
A better approach is to do your due diligence in researching everything. Explore every possible option and decide what kind of water heater do you want – whether electric or gas, demand or storage, stand-alone or they are integrated with the heating system of your house.
Visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_heating for more information about heating.
You need to find out the right size of your household, not just the gallon capacity, but also the first-hour rating. It is very important with a more modern energy-efficient technologies. If possible, you have to replace the existing heater before they fail. A lot of water warmer lasts for ten to fifteen years.
If your warmer is in that age range, you need to have your plumber take a closer look at it and ask them how much life it has left. If it is in pretty bad shape, you need to replace them right away before it starts leaking and the burner stops working.
As a matter of fact, it usually makes sense to have your inefficient heater replaced even if it is still in good shape. The energy-saving that you will get could pay for a new warmer after a few years, and you will be happy to know that you are dumping fewer pollutants into the atmosphere and less money will be spent on meaningless maintenance.
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Fuel Options
If you are planning to replace the warmer in your home, you first need to know what kind of fuel will make a lot of sense in your home. If you have an electric warmer and natural gas or oil is available near your area, switching from electric to natural gas or oil might save you a lot of money.
Propane or oil-fired heaters can also cost a lot less to operate compared to electric-powered models, although the operating costs can be considerably higher, especially for oil-powered models. Before you discard the idea of using electric-powered warmers, ask your utility company first.
They might have an off-peak rate special offers that can make electricity a better option. With off-peak electricity for a heater, the company can put a separate meter that has a timer on them. You can only use the electricity through the meter during off-peak times when the company has better capacity compared to its needs and they are willing to sell the power for a lower price.
Choosing A New Heater
Whether you are replacing an old and worn-out, water warmer or just looking for a better model for your new home that you are building, you need to choose the right one. Look for a heater that will satisfy your hot water needs and can help you save as much energy as possible. Sometimes, you can significantly reduce your warm water needs with the help of conservation methods.
Storage Heaters
A storage warmer is far the most common kind of heater that is usually used in the United States today. Its size ranges from 20 gallons to 80 gallons (sometimes even larger) and fueled natural gas, electricity, oil or propane. Storage warmer work heating the water in insulated tanks.
When you turn the tap on, hot water is then pulled out of the warmer and the cold water will flow into the bottom to replace the hot water that was pulled out. Hot water will always be there, ready to be used. And because heat is lost through the storage tank’s walls (also known as stand heat loss) and in your house’s pipes after you have turned the faucet off (also called distribution loss), the energy is then consumed even when there is no hot water being used.
More modern storage warmers that are energy-efficient contains a higher level of insulation around its tank to minimize the stand heat loss. As for its distribution losses – a problem that is very common to all kinds of heaters, visit this website or any other website that tackles heater related issues for tips.
Tank Size And Efficiency
The energy efficiency of storage water warmers is indicated in its EF or energy factor, an overall measure of its effectiveness that is based on the assumed usage capacity of 64 gallons of warm water every day regardless of its tank size. The very first national efficiency standard for water heaters started in 1990.
Installing A Heater
Choose a contractor that installs a water warmer carefully. You need to make sure that they have experience with the kind of system that you like to install. If the system that you choose is integrated with the system in your home, have your contractor put the heater in. To get the best value, ask for any bids from different contractors and evaluate every proposal carefully. Consider service, reputation and warranties, as well as their price.