Energy Efficient Water Heaters

In this article I will cover energy efficient water heaters. We will not talk about the energy efficient tankless water heaters because they are covered in detail in a previous article. Go to our web site to see it.

Energy efficiency is a hot topic right now and new technologies are being introduced everyday. We recommend that you do not wait until you need a new water heater to do your research. You may find yourself buying what ever is available, instead of what is best! This is not a good plan since your hot water heater is the biggest waste of your energy costs. So do your research now, and double check it just when you are ready to purchase.

Consumers have a tendency to purchase their heater based on size. Actually the First Hour Rating (FHR) is more important to consider. The FHR represents the amount of hot water that the unit will deliver during a busy hour. Estimate your family’s usage during the peak hour usage and find a unit with a FHR that will cover it.

The most energy efficient water heaters are generally gas fired. Electric resistance is an expensive way to generate heat and not as environmentally friendly. Before you make the final decision, check with your utility company to see if they have any incentives that may make electricity more attractive.

Besides the standard gas and electric energy efficient water heaters there is the indirect water heater. This type is only for consumers who have a boiler. It uses your boiler as its heat source. This type of system eliminates a lot of the heat loss through the flue, as associated with the gas fired heaters.

The next type is a heat pump water heater or desuperheater.  With this type the electric is used to move the heat from one place to another instead of actually creating it. The heat source comes from the heat in the outside air or the area where the unit is located. This type is not very common and harder to find.

Solar water heaters use the sun to heat your water. They are very expensive and hard to calculate the cost because there are so many factors that affect it. These would include the amount of sun, where you live, which way your roof is facing and the amount of hot water that you use. If everything is right though they offer a virtually cost free hot water from a renewable energy. Seems like solar power was hot, then cold and now it seems to be making a comeback. There seem to be many opinions out there for and against solar power. The drawback is that you must have some type of backup system for when there is no sun.

So the bottom line is that this is a very big decision. Make sure that you use every available resource to do your research before you spend your hard earned money. If you make a mistake, you will be paying for it for a long time!