All of us are concerned with conserving energy; it's good for the environment and with the prices of energy continually on the rise, it's a good way to save money as well. One way to save on your energy cost and consumption is to replace your hot water heater. Installing a more efficient heater can save you a great deal of money.
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.
You might want to think about installing a new heater which has a smaller tank than your old one if you find that you use less hot water than you used to. Smaller, more highly efficient heaters with 40 gallon tanks and even lower capacities are available. This small step alone can produce a significant savings on your energy bill. You could even choose one of the new high efficiency water heaters which has its heating coils on the inside of its tank - these can save you even more on energy costs.
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.
Choosing to install a tankless water heater can also help you to save on the cost of heating water for your home. This is a type of water heater which is also called an on demand heater. These heaters have an entirely different kind of design, using heating coils wrapped around a water pipe to heat water as it flows through the unit rather than heating an entire tank of water all at once. These tankless heaters can provide anywhere between 2 and 5 gallons of hot water per minute; gas powered models can provide slightly higher amounts of hot water.
One advantage of these tankless heaters is that they take up far less space than does a conventional heater. However, the throughput of these heaters is significantly lower than that of the traditional tank heaters, so it can be a problem if you need to use hot water for two things at once (for example, showering and running a dishwasher). Of course, homeowners can easily install more than one tankless heater to meet their particular 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.
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.
You might want to think about installing a new heater which has a smaller tank than your old one if you find that you use less hot water than you used to. Smaller, more highly efficient heaters with 40 gallon tanks and even lower capacities are available. This small step alone can produce a significant savings on your energy bill. You could even choose one of the new high efficiency water heaters which has its heating coils on the inside of its tank - these can save you even more on energy costs.
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.
Choosing to install a tankless water heater can also help you to save on the cost of heating water for your home. This is a type of water heater which is also called an on demand heater. These heaters have an entirely different kind of design, using heating coils wrapped around a water pipe to heat water as it flows through the unit rather than heating an entire tank of water all at once. These tankless heaters can provide anywhere between 2 and 5 gallons of hot water per minute; gas powered models can provide slightly higher amounts of hot water.
One advantage of these tankless heaters is that they take up far less space than does a conventional heater. However, the throughput of these heaters is significantly lower than that of the traditional tank heaters, so it can be a problem if you need to use hot water for two things at once (for example, showering and running a dishwasher). Of course, homeowners can easily install more than one tankless heater to meet their particular 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.
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