Energy Efficient Hot Water Heater

Why Buy an Energy Efficient Hot Water Heater?

This isn’t one of those tricky questions. An energy efficient anything will save you money, save on the earth’s resources, and like the name states, offer energy more efficiently. You also may be eligible for Energy Star rebates.

When it comes to water heaters, energy efficiency is important. After basic home heating – and possibly cooling depending on your location, water heaters use the bulk of the energy in your home. Efficiency matters quite a lot.

What Type of Efficient Water Heater to Purchase

According to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, your best bet when it comes to commonly accessible water heaters, is to go for gas fired. If you’ve ever had the experience of having gas vs. electric, you’ll know that this is a smart choice. Gas fired water heaters offer huge monetary savings.

The varying factors are availability and location. Some areas don’t offer natural gas options, and other areas offer money saving perks to folks who choose electric. It’s variable so it’s smart to check with your local utility companies and some knowledgeable installers. If you happen to know people in the area with gas and electric, you can ask them what they pay.

To see a full buying guide related to water heaters read: Guide to Home Energy Savings – Water Heaters.

Measuring the Energy Efficiency of Hot Water Heaters

You never need to buy an energy efficient hot water heater blind, there are ways to determine how efficient a heater will work for your home and situation.

Some of the different types of water heaters you may want to estimate efficiency for include the following. Click on the type to learn more about how to figure the efficiency level.

• Tankless coil and indirect heater
• Conventional storage water heaters
• Solar: Solar water heaters are better for the earth but work better in some areas than others. Solar heaters come in passive and active and include solar collectors and storage tanks.

Sometimes a more energy efficient choice may not be best for your home though. Sometimes people choose one method, say solar, simply because it’s healthier. The good news is that no matter which heater you use, any can be made more energy efficient by your actions.

Ways to Improve Energy Efficiency of Water Heater Use

One way to turn any heater into an energy efficient hot water heater, is to simply be a more energy efficient house. While method of heat is partially the problem, so is how households use water.

Ways to make your household an energy efficient water heating household include the following green living tips:

• Use less hot water. If this is hard for you get a basic kitchen timer, so you can see how long typical hot water tasks take. For example, how long are you washing dishes? Do you leave the water running? Can you run a sink full of hot water instead?
• Insulate your existing water heater tank and hot water pipes.
• Install heat traps on your tank – this option is iffy. In most cases a typical homeowner will need to hire someone to do this task. It might end up being more expensive if you install traps on an old heater, one that may die soon.
• Install a timer on your heater: Timers are easy, inexpensive (compared to savings over time) and can save lots of money and energy. The downside is you are limited by peak hours. For example; if you install a timer the ideal is to not have the hot water running during peak hours. Your water heater is running hot during off times. It’s not an all or nothing though. If you decide you’d like hot water during a peak time, you simply adjust the heater. It’s a more hands on and pay attention method – that said, it would be a good thing if everyone was more aware of their energy and water use, because it helps to conserve.

To learn more, read the Energy Star pdf on High Efficiency Water Heaters; this short but easy to follow guide offers a handy comparison chart.

To learn more about solar hot water heaters read Solar Hot Water: A Good Deal that Keeps Getting Better and Solar Power: How it Works