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 efficient energy star-certified appliances use electricity to heat the water held in your water heater's tank. Given the size of the tanks used in most of these heaters, it naturally takes a while to heat this water; and no small amount of electricity. However, there are some alternative types of heater now available, so you have choices other than the traditional large tank heater.
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.
However, if you'd like to reduce your costs but still need a large tank to meet your household's needs for hot water, then you might be able to heat your water with natural gas rather than with electricity. You'll have to ask your local utilities if this is an option in your locale, as well as what the costs would be. If the cost turns out to be lower, it's likely a change you'll want to make - and it can increase your home's resale value.
You could also install a tankless water heater. Also known as an on demand heater, a tankless water heater uses a different type of design, with the heating coils wrapped around pipes to heat water as it runs through the unit. These heaters can heat between two and five gallons of water per minute if they are electrically powered and slightly more when powered with natural gas or propane.
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.
Even the most efficient energy star-certified appliances use electricity to heat the water held in your water heater's tank. Given the size of the tanks used in most of these heaters, it naturally takes a while to heat this water; and no small amount of electricity. However, there are some alternative types of heater now available, so you have choices other than the traditional large tank heater.
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.
However, if you'd like to reduce your costs but still need a large tank to meet your household's needs for hot water, then you might be able to heat your water with natural gas rather than with electricity. You'll have to ask your local utilities if this is an option in your locale, as well as what the costs would be. If the cost turns out to be lower, it's likely a change you'll want to make - and it can increase your home's resale value.
You could also install a tankless water heater. Also known as an on demand heater, a tankless water heater uses a different type of design, with the heating coils wrapped around pipes to heat water as it runs through the unit. These heaters can heat between two and five gallons of water per minute if they are electrically powered and slightly more when powered with natural gas or propane.
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.
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