Water Heaters 101, Part 1: Considerations When Purchasing a New Water Heater
When it’s time to replace your old water heater – or to choose a water heating system for your newly built home – you’ll need some guidance to wade through the many options that are available to you.
In this two-part post, we’ll get you up to speed about what you’ll need to consider when choosing a new water heater.
Water heater types
Generally speaking, there are three categories of water heaters:
- Conventional water heaters, where water is heated and stored in a tank.
- Tankless water heaters, where water is heated instantly on demand.
- Tankless coil and indirect water heaters, which uses your home’s heating system to warm water.
Considerations when purchasing a water heater
Here are four key factors when choosing a home water heater:
- Fuel type – The fuel you use to heat your water will affect how much it costs – sometimes dramatically. Carroll Home Services sells electric, gas-powered, and oil-fired water heaters (more on that in our next post).
- Size – You need enough heating capacity to meet your family’s need for hot water, but not so much that you’re heating water you won’t use. Right-sizing a water heater can get tricky without some professional guidance.
- Energy efficiency – Right sizing, the efficiency rating of the water heater itself, and other factors – including, for conventional water heaters, heat loss when you’re not actually using hot water (called standby heat loss) – all affect efficiency.
- Costs – It’s smart to compare not just the cost to purchase a new water heater, but to calculate the total cost of ownership for each option, which includes fuel costs, life expectancy of the unit, and more.
Whatever option you choose, it’s a good idea to reduce your water usage when you can – and to make sure you service your equipment regularly to keep it running at peak efficiency. In our next post, we’ll talk in more detail about water heater fueling options.
Contact Carroll today for a FREE estimate on a new, high efficiency water heating system for your Maryland home – or to sign up for a service plan to keep your current system running at its best.
