Recent energy efficiency regulations mean using cutting edge technologies for many new and replacement latest in water heaters.\u00a0 Although not explicitly required, only condensing gas heaters and \u00a0heat pump electric heaters can meet the specified performance for tank sizes above 55 gallons.\u00a0 These technologies cost significantly more, but that’s balanced out by energy cost savings over the lifetime of the unit.\u00a0 So even if your tank size is smaller, these alternatives are well worth considering.\u00a0 Especially if your choice qualifies for a utility rebate or tax credit.<\/p>\n
Hot water heaters are something most people don’t think about, even when a replacement is necessary.\u00a0 But give these “new” options some thought before you just go with whatever you happen to already have as a replacement.\u00a0 Condensing, heat pump, and tankless water heaters seem like something new in the US, but they’ve been the most common choices in Europe and Japan for many, many years.<\/p>\n
With designs from not that long ago, a third of the burner’s energy went straight out the flue.\u00a0 But with the latest models as much as 97% goes into water.<\/p>\n
Condensing\u00a0units look and operate like the old standards, except for one big difference.\u00a0 There’s a special stainless steel\u00a0heat exchanger that condenses water vapor out of the exhaust gases, recovering heat.\u00a0 They also typically use closed combustion for cleaner and more efficient burning.\u00a0 So rather than the usual efficiency of around 80%, models with these technologies go well above 90%.<\/p>\n
With an exhaust hardly above room temperature they’re less expensive to vent.\u00a0 They also have much better first-hour recoveries, so you’re less likely to run out of hot water and may even be able to choose\u00a0a less expensive\u00a0unit with a smaller tank.<\/p>\n
Per unit of energy, electricity is much more expensive than natural gas.\u00a0 But sometimes there’s no good choice other than an electric hot water heater.\u00a0 Conventional models are already in the 90% efficiency range, but it’s actually possible to do better than “100%!”<\/p>\n
Heat pumps don’t directly use electrical energy to heat water.\u00a0 Instead they “pump” thermal energy from their surroundings into the water.\u00a0 So for every kWh (kilowatt hour) of electricity used they move 2, even 3 kWh equivalent of heat.\u00a0 That’s a huge win in lowering your electric bill when compared to conventional electric models. But it does mean they shouldn’t be installed in heated areas.\u00a0 And they work best in warm climates.\u00a0 In fact, they don’t work at all below freezing temperatures.\u00a0 But no worries — most are technically hybrids, with a standard electric resistance element for those cold times.<\/p>\n
Efficiencies approaching 100% are indeed impressive, but that ignores heat lost from the big water tank.\u00a0 Even with excellent insulation that brings gas heaters in the 80% efficiency range down to 60-70% (an EF — effective energy factor — of .6 to .7).\u00a0 Tankless water heater bring that back up to 80%+ by getting rid of that tank.\u00a0 Condensing tankless water heaters reach well into the 90% range.<\/p>\n
How do they do it?\u00a0 With bigger burners and advanced heat exchangers (or bigger electric heating elements) they heat water\u00a0as you use it<\/em>.\u00a0 And you have an\u00a0endless<\/em>\u00a0supply of hot water.\u00a0 Products from leaders such as AO Smith also feature ultra low NOX emissions and expected lifetimes on the order of 20 years.<\/p>\n Ultra-compact tankless models can often be located at the “point of use” in a kitchen or bath.\u00a0 They’re great for additions or adding capacity.\u00a0 And there’s no waiting — you get hot water out the tap almost instantly.<\/p>\n To check out exactly what’s available in your particular location and what models qualify, visit\u00a0www.dsireusa.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n We’re A+ BBB rated<\/a> and have been serving San Diego since 2001. Learn more<\/a> or contact us<\/a> any time.<\/p>\n [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_tagline_box backgroundcolor=”” shadow=”no” shadowopacity=”0.1″ border=”1px” bordercolor=”#666″ highlightposition=”left” link=”tel:7607448489″ linktarget=”_blank” buttoncolor=”blue” button=”(760) 744-8489″ title=”Water Heater Questions?” description=”Call Now for Prompt and Professional Service” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″][\/fusion_tagline_box] \t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Recent energy efficiency regulations mean using cutting edge technologies for many new and replacement latest in water heaters.\u00a0 Although not explicitly required, only condensing gas […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11689,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-slab-and-water-leaks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12130"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12130\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Rebates? Tax Credits?<\/h2>\n
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