Residential Hot Water Systems - Ways To Beat Huge Energy Bills
Heating water for the home is a major cost for many people. It is estimated that it is approximately 20% of the monthly utility bills. This can mount up, especially as traditional energy sources that are used to heat the water increase in cost. This article will run you through a few types of residential hot water heaters that may save you some money on these monthly costs.
Most homes have a water heater that is powered by electricity or gas. The general set up is a storage tank that holds a certain amount of water. In reality, the storage tank has an inner bottle, made of glass that is covered by insulation, to store the water. The metal casing protects the glass and insulation from damage or breakage.
An electric element or a gas line that ignites a burner is positioned at the bottom of the tank so that it can heat the water. This normally occurs when the temperature of the water drops to a certain level (by the way, an energy saving tip is to turn the temperature of the thermostat that controls this process down. Many people set it to 140 F when 120 F is sufficient).
The main negative about this type of system is that it constantly has to re-heat the water in the tank if it is not used by the residents.
For example, any water that is not used and sits in the tank will lose some of this heat to the environment. If the system senses that this water is too cold it will start to reheat it again. This will continue throughout the day, using energy and costing you money.
This is why this kind of system can cost you money and effectively is an inefficent way to use hot water. There are alternatives.
An alternative that gets around this issue is the tankless water heater. This works as the name suggests. It is pretty much an on demand hot water system.
The key component of this system is a heat exchanger. The heat exchanger is still powered by traditional energy sources, like electricity or gas, but it is only activated when hot water is needed.
Part of the plumbing of the home is wound around the heat exchanger. As the water passes through the plumbing around the heat exchanger, the water is heated.
You will use less electricity or gas using this type of system because it is only used when needed rather than topping up hot water that may not be used. A tankless system can cost more than the other system but should last longer as it gets less use.
Another option that is gaining popularity and will continue in this way is to add solar power to your heating system. Solar hot water systems are really just the same storage and heating device ” so it could be a tank or tankless water system - but the energy source comes from the Sun rather than via a utility company.
There are two types of solar water systems. The passive system has been around for a long time. In some cases it can provide all your energy needs for hot water but generally it acts as a way to preheat water that is then heated via the traditional method.
The second method is known as an active system. It used solar panels that generate electric current. This can be used to power the entire house, including the heating element in the water heater or the heat exchanger in the tankless water system. Using this method your energy bills would be minimal as the electricity generated would be free.
