When your home needs a new hot water heater, you may be tempted to just go out and buy the same type and size as the one you had before. This is certainly an option, but you might take the opportunity to consider a few different types of hot water heaters for your home; this can mean a system that is more efficient or that better suits your family's needs. Consider a few of your choices so you can determine if a traditional hot water heater is still the best choice for your home.
Solar
Solar hot water heaters are obviously very environmentally friendly, as they mean using little to no electricity to heat your water; power plants that generate electricity create quite a bit of pollution, so anything you can do to reduce your electrical consumption is good for the environment. Solar panels for the hot water heater alone are a good choice for those who want to use solar power, but cannot afford the panels that power an entire house. Water heater solar panels are much smaller and more affordable, and they're very easy to have installed. However, note that they may not always store all the power needed for your hot water usage, so you may still need an electrical hookup to the water heater.
Tankless
A tankless hot water heater has a heating coil that heats water as it runs through the system, rather than heating water as it stands in a tank. This can also save on your electrical consumption; on cold days, your water heater may switch on several times throughout the day whether or not you're using hot water, simply because the temperature inside the tank has dropped. With a tankless system, the water is heated only as you use it.
Point of use
A point of use system is a very small tankless system that installs where you're using hot water, meaning under a sink or behind a bathtub. These are good for a main bathroom, laundry room, kitchen, and other areas where hot water is mostly consumed. Point of use systems, like all tankless heaters, provide instant hot water and don't use water that is stored in the home's main hot water heater. By adding a point of use system to even one area of the home, you may be able to downsize the hot water heater you have connected to the rest of the home's pipes.
For more information, contact companies like Peninsula Plumbing S.A.
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