Hot water systems are a great addition to your home and make life much easier. But do you know that installing a hot water service for your home can cost you and the environment if not installed correctly?
It’s very important to choose the right kind of hot water system for your home. A poorly installed hot water system can add huge amounts to your electricity bills and contribute heavily to greenhouse gas emissions.
For example, as per estimates of the Australian government, 21% of the energy consumption of homes is spent just to heat water. All that energy usage generates 23% of greenhouse gas emissions. These are some pretty significant numbers.
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But there is not much to worry about, as choosing the right hot water service can reduce energy costs and emissions without compromising convenience.
The aim of this article is to give a basic overview of the different types of water heaters and help you in making an informed choice.
All you need is a good water heater for your home. But it is surely depending on you that which type of water heater you choose for your household. You can get many options while looking for a water heater but always choose the one which fits your requirement and consume less energy.
Water heaters can be classified into two main types
Storage Heaters
These are the kind of heaters that use an insulated storage tank to store hot water and suspense it as required. If you want hot water, then you don’t have to wait for a few minutes because the water always stays heated in these types of heaters. It consumes more electricity, but it is less expensive.
Continuous Flow
These do not use a tank and heat up only the amount of water that is required when it is required.
These can be further divided into four types.
- Heat pump
- Electric
- Gas
- Solar
Now let’s talk about these in more details.
Heat Pump
- Heat pump systems are very efficient. They do use electricity directly to heat the water. Instead, this unit works like a refrigerator, but in reverse. Warm air is used to the heat of the refrigerant, which gets converted to gas and expels heat, warring up the water.
- They use less power than traditional electric power units and work best in temperate regions.
Electric Systems
- Electric Systems work like an electric kettle, there is a heater inside the tank that uses electric power to heat the water.
- Electric systems are generally cheaper to install than another hot water service. They can also come in continuous flow format.
- However, electric heating systems are power hungry; they consume a lot of energy, increasing running costs. They need bigger tanks, but the tank can be installed indoors. Electric systems emit the most greenhouse gases.
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Gas
- Gas powered systems are usually the cheapest to install and since gas prices are generally lower, they are also cheaper to run. Gas powered systems also use smaller tanks than electric systems.
- However, the tanks need to be installed outdoors to allow proper venting. Another advantage of Natural Gas system over electric system is that they emit fewer greenhouse gases.
- Like the electric systems, gas heaters can also be configured as a storage tank or continuous flow.
- The disadvantage of this system is the availability of natural gas, as LPG systems can be significantly costlier to run.
Solar
These are the perfect fit for anyone looking to minimize their carbon footprint. Solar powered systems work by installing solar panels at ideal locations of your house, which then convert theenergy from the sun to heat up the water. Thesesystems have zero emissions. Solar hot water service can be boosted with electricity or gas.
Conclusion
After reading this article, you must have understood about the different types of water heaters and their advantages and disadvantages. Nowadays homeowners prefer water heater which are less energy consumable. You can search online about pros and cons of every different water heater and if you want a water heater you can contact a dealer or manufacturers who provide the best quality water heaters.
