When your old hot water heater stops working, you will either need to repair or replace it. However, with hot water heater technology evolving at such a rapid rate, it can be hard to pinpoint which option is best for you. The information below discusses three of the most popular high tech hot water heaters to help you find the right balance between efficiency and performance for your particular home.
Tankless Hot Water Heater (see picture above left).
Like the name suggests, these water heaters do not contain a water storage tank. Instead of keeping 40 or 50 gallons of heated water in a reservoir 24 hours a day (which is a waste of energy and a drain on your utility bill) a tank-less unit heats the water as you need it.
Pros:
Never run out of hot water
Saves about 30-50% in energy costs, when compared to conventional gas heaters
Takes up less space
Cons:
Takes about 3-8 seconds to heat the water to the desired temperature
Not easy to install
Must be flushed with special chemicals every year to maintain energy efficiency and remove scale
Hybrid Electric Heat-pump Hot Water Heater
This type of hot water heater works by pulling heat out of the surrounding air and pumping it into the storage pump. It has conventional heating coils but, they only activate when the heat pump cannot sufficiently warm the water by itself.
Pros:
Lowest operating cost of any electric water heater on the market, especially if you live in a warm climate and it is installed in your hot garage or attic
Potential tax incentives and/or rebates (check with your state and electricity provider)
Cons:
Costly price tag
Takes up a lot of space
Air filter must be cleaned on a regular basis to maintain operating efficiency
Condensing Gas Hot Water Heater
Instead of wasting energy by sending hot exhaust gases out of the flue, a condensing gas hot water heater blows them through the coil at the bottom of the fan to heat the water to the desired temperatures.
Pros:
Most energy-efficient, gas powered water heater on the market
High first hour recovery rate virtually guarantees that you’ll never run out of hot water
Cons
Expensive price tag
Require venting and gas line reconfiguration
Important Considerations
Regardless of the model that you choose, there are a couple of ratings that you must check before you buy your new heater:
Energy factor (EF): Indicates how efficient the unit is; the higher the number the more efficient the heater.
First hour recovery: This is for storage tank heaters and indicates the amount of hot water that you will get within the first hour after opening the spigot.
Flow rate: This is for tank-less heaters, that use incoming winter water temperatures to provide the flow rate that you want.
Before you put down a ton of money for a new high tech hot water heater, it is important that you take some time to understand the pros and cons of each. To learn more about hot water heaters, see 5 Facts About Hot Water Heaters. The information above will help you narrow down your options so that you make the right investment for your needs. However, even though all the new models are more energy efficient, that doesn’t mean you’ll find them the most cost effective for your family. Plus, we are always ready to answer your questions and provide you with the facts you need to make an educated decision to meet your particular needs.
Without hot water heaters, we would all have to heat water on the stoves to have hot baths; a tedious and time consuming chore, and not a very pleasant thought.
Thankfully, in this day and age, there are appliances that provide us with readily available hot water with just the turn of a faucet. After a trying day, a hot bath may be all that you need to wash the stress away. While many of us appreciate the feeling we get when we take a hot shower, most of us hardly ever think of how this luxury is provided.
Do You Have Questions about Hot Water Heaters?
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Types of Hot Water Heaters
Most hot water heaters consist of a drum-shaped tank with a stand on the end but, there are tankless versions as well. The tanks hold a reservoir of hot water so that when the faucet is turned on, the hot water is available to meet your needs. Because of their large size and general aesthetic reasons, the heater’s tank is usually kept out of sight, in the laundry, basement, or a special cupboard.
There are three main types of hot water heaters:
Electric Heaters: Electric heaters are powered by electricity and use a thermostat to help them maintain a comfortable temperature. If the water temperature happens to fall below the preset level, the electric current will raise it to the desired level. These tanks tend to be about 93% efficient; the highest among heater models. (See diagram above)
Gas heaters: Gas heaters operate under similar principles as their electric counterparts. The main difference being that, as the name suggests, they utilize gas for energy. Their level of energy efficiency is largely dependent on their age and size. For instance, models made before 1990 tend to be anywhere from 45% 61% energy efficient. Newer models tend to be at least 62% energy efficient.
Tankless water heaters: As the name suggests, these heaters work without the benefit of a water reservoir; instead they heat the water as needed. They are available in both electric and gas models and are typically about 82% energy efficient.
5 Little Known Facts About Hot Water Heaters
Hot water heaters are essential to your total home comfort. However, there is much that we don’t know about them. Take a look at the following 5 facts
Approximately 25% of the energy is used in your home is used to heat your water. Because they use such a large amount of energy, it is important that you purchase a unit that is energy efficient.
Most of your hot water usage comes from doing laundry and taking baths.
The typical hot water heater with a tank lasts anywhere from 10 to 13 years.
Tank water heaters should be drained and filled every 3 months so that they remain in optimum working condition.
Tankless water heaters don’t provide instant hot water when the faucet is turned on.
The Bottom Line on Hot Water Heaters
The hot water heater is an essential appliance for every home. Regardless if you are buying your first water heater or your fourth, knowing the facts about water heaters will help you make an informed decision.
We’ve been in this business for quite some time, and find that a lot of people do not understand the term HVAC. HVAC is a common industry term, but it does not translate very well to consumers. The purpose of this article is to explain HVAC in layman’s terms and also provide some timely and useful information on the air conditioning component in your HVAC system. And, we’ll provide some tips on how to avoid costly upsells you might not need.
HVAC
HVAC stands for heating, ventilation and air conditioning. Your HVAC system is one of the most important parts of your home. HVAC includes the three major functions of your home comfort system. A complete system controls humidity, fresh air intake, maintains the quality of the air in your home, heats your home in the winter, and cools your home in the summer.
Air Conditioning
It’s that time of year. Customers are testing their air conditioning units for the long awaited summer months. And, they are calling us to perform service checks to tune up and make minor repairs to maintain their air conditioning systems. So, that’s our focus in this article.
How Does Your Air Conditioner Work: Here is a quick, simple and easy to understand video on how your air conditioner works.
In addition to the three major components mentioned in the video; the compressor, the condensor coil, and the evaporator coil, your air conditioning system relies on ductwork throughout your home to deliver cool air. And, of course, your system relies on freon to complete the cooling process. Please see our recent article on Air Conditioning Repair Tips before calling a professional repair service.
Be aware of scams or upsells.
Sadly, some companies pressure their techs to upsell regardless of the condition of the system. Conversely, some techs try to upsell to customers without the consent of their company. Let take a look at an example. An 84-yr old woman calls a local Plumbing and HVAC company to request preventative maintenance on her air conditioning system. She pays the company $89 for this service.
The company HVAC Tech recommends she replace and upgrade her entire system because its 15-years old and uses an old type of Freon. He estimates the price to be between $6-10,000. Yet, her current system is working just fine. The compressor works, the condensor coil and evaporator coil are both fine and she doesn’t need Freon. Nothing is broke! He promises to give her an exact price the following week. Coincidentally, this same company replaced her heating system about four years ago and she had to finance the cost. And, she’s still making payments on her very limited fixed income. Be careful folks!
Granted, there are a lot of good reasons to upgrade or replace the air conditioning component of your HVAC system, but there are also some bad reasons to make this huge investment. If you’re on a tight budget, it might be a whole lot better to know and understand the basic components of your air conditioning system and have them fixed if and when they break. And, they will break much less often if you take care of your system with yearly preventative maintenance. We, at Jerry’s Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning, strive to meet our customer’s needs, not our own!
Before you call a company for air conditioning repair, there are a few things you can try on your own. While many air conditioning repairs require a professional, homeowners can troubleshoot some common home air conditioning problems themselves.
First of all, and to avoid troubleshooting, please read this important article on Air Conditioning Preventive Maintenance. It provides some great tips on how to preserve your current air conditioning system and prevent the higher costs associated with air conditioning repair and replacement.
If troubleshooting become an issue, here’s a link to an excellent article on Angie’s List on Troubleshooting Common Air Conditioning Problems. This article addresses four common air conditioning repair problems and recommends what you can do if: 1. Your air condenser isn’t running; 2. You have inadequate cooling; 3. Your air conditioning unit is running, but doesn’t cool; and, 4. Your air unit repeatedly shuts off. And, finally they provide advice on when to call a professional.
We also recommend you read our article titled Air Conditioning Repair Services in Southern Maryland. In this article we provide recommendations on what to look for and how to choose a professional air conditioning repair contractor should you have the need to do so.
Finally, you might want to check out this timely article on Air Conditioner Repair and Replacement. In this article, we describe some of the many technical changes that have occurred in air conditioning repair. For example, as of 2010, manufacturers must use a new kind of refrigerant that’s not an ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbon. Plus, we explain some cost/benefit solutions when making a decision to either repair or replace your air conditioning system.
In review, this article is intended to provide you some answers and resolution to common air conditioning repair problems. As a homeowner, there are several options that you can try yourself. First of all, we always recommend that annual air conditioning preventive maintenance will help you avoid expensive repairs in the first place. Finally, should repair or replacement become issues, it’s always best to be an informed consumer.
A water powered sump pump back-up offers you a low cost solution to basement flooding problems.
A water powered sump pump is commonly used to supplement a primary, electric powered sump pump in your home. This article describes its many advantages.
It’s that time of year in Southern Maryland. Spring is coming and that means the frozen ground supporting our homes is going to thaw. And, when it thaws, that frozen water is going to become drain water. Depending on your home construction and drainage, a lot of that water is going to drain below your home and cause additional pressure or workload on your sump pump.
Here’s the problem! A lot of our customers have sump pumps. Obviously, that’s not the problem. The problem is that their primary sump pump works on electricity. So, without electricity, their sump pump simply fails to do that critical job of protecting their home against damaging water . Consequently, when their electricity stops, which is rather common during a major storm, their sump pump stops working and water just pours into their finished or unfinished basements.
This is when the hassle really begins. You can pump out or soak up the water yourself if you have the right equipment. You can file insurance claims and potentially face higher insurance costs. And, you can miss work to handle your misfortune that you could have avoided.
We have found a great way to solve these problems that our customers face in Southern Maryland and do it at a comparatively lost cost to other solutions.
If you already rely on a sump pump to protect your home against water damage, then consider installing a backup. There are two types of back up sump pumps; battery and water powered. Battery backup pumps require annual maintenance and have a limited battery capacity. And, if the water is persistent enough, the battery will eventually die. By the time you re-charge it, you could have a serious basement flood. On the other hand, a water powered sump pump will operate for as long as they need, provided you simply maintain your connection with your municipal water supply.
We highly recommend you consider a water powered sump pump as a back up for your electric powered sump. They do not require maintenance or a power source. All they need is a municipal water connection. However, they do not work well with wells. So, if you have a well and do not use municipal water, a water powered sump pump is probably not your best choice. If that’s the case, you are probably better off using a battery back-up sump pump. A water powered sump pump is only used as an emergency to back up to your existing electric powered sump pump. And, they do not use any water except in an emergency. Water powered backup pumps are much simpler than battery powered backup pumps, and since they require essentially no maintenance, there is less to go wrong.
7 Advantages of a Water Powered Sump Pump Back Up:
1. Takes over seamlessly when your primary sump system fails.
2. No electricity required.
3. Works during power failures
4. No battery to charge.
5. On guard 24 hours a day
6. Helps eliminate flooding in basements
7. Can be used with any existing brand of sump pump
So, if your home is threatened by water, now’s the perfect time to call us for help in shoring up your defenses with new or replacement sump pumps, expertly installed and repaired by the our plumbing professionals. In particular, a water powered sump pump provides an easy, cost-effective, no hassle and worry free back-up solution.
To learn more or to schedule installation,contact us.
When your old hot water heater stops working, you will either need to repair or replace it. However, with hot water heater technology evolving at such a rapid rate, it can be hard to pinpoint which option is best for you. The information below discusses three of the most popular high tech hot water heaters to help you find the right balance between efficiency and performance for your particular home.
