CHOOSE THE BEST ENERGY EFFICIENT HOT WATER HEATER
When buying new, it is wise to buy the best energy efficient hot water heater that you can afford, as the amount of money required for heating the water for typical homeowner, accounts for about 20% of the home energy budget.
This page will consider conventional boilers, combinational boilers often known as combi boilers, condensing boilers and solar heating systems.
To maximize any energy efficient hot water heater, a regular service maintenance is necessary and any faults must be dealt with by an expert.
Water can be heated using gas, oil, liquid petro gas (LPG), solar energy, solid fuel or electricity but nowadays, many homeowners have conventional gas boilers storing the hot water in a tank ready for use but, in order to save energy and cash, many people are increasingly installing instant gas hot water heaters that do not use a tank and provide instant water or even solar water heaters that use the free sunshine.
SELECTING A BOILER
- When selecting your boiler, look at the energy rating labels to compare their running costs and remember that some heating systems require more maintenance than others.
- Selecting the correct energy efficient water heater for your needs depends on the size of your house, family and number appliances and bathrooms it has to service.
- All new water heaters must be installed by approved and registered engineers and must meet the Buildings Regulation requirements including set appliance efficiency levels. The package will include thermostats and programmers.
Energy efficient hot water heaters come in different types and sizes.
A Conventional Boiler
A gas or oil burner, can be floor standing using a conventional flue, but is now usually wall hung using a balanced flue. The floor or wall hung boiler both require a cold water and a hot water tank for water storage.
Combi Boilers
or known as a combinational boilers, use gas or LPG and can sometimes use oil and heat the cold water straight from the mains. They do not require a cylinder or tank and will also heat all the radiators in the house. The advantages are that they provide constant hot water, good water pressure in showers and do not need tanks for water storage. The disadvantages are that they relatively expensive to install and are more suited to smaller houses as the flow rates can be low when more than one hot tap is being used.
A Condensing Boiler
is usually more expensive than a conventional boiler to install but because these water heaters recover heat from the flue gases they are much more cost efficient to run therefore reducing carbon emissions.
Combination Condensing Boilers
are worth investigating as they are available now too.
Solar Heating
The initial setting up of a solar heating system for your hot water needs maybe thought as free but setting it up can be expensive. Consideration must be given to the local climate, (both too hot or too cold) can cause problems, position of the house, the desired water temperature and the quantity and the time of day of water is required. A correctly installed solar hot water system should give 20-30 years of hot water, cutting bills and green house gas emissions but the use of the fossil fuels used in manufacturing the solar panels will sadly negate this positive environmental impact. Before investing in any system, research it thoroughly, as technology in this area is improving rapidly.
To get the most value out of your energy efficient hot water heater
- Lower the water temperature. The shower can be varied at the controls, bathing can use less cold water and the washing machine and dishwasher may require specific low temperature detergents.
- Install timers to programme your water usage.
- Lag all the hot water pipes with insulating sleeves and make sure that if the hot water tank is not lagged, replace it with a new one that incorporates factory fitted foam insulation.
- Only fill the kettle to the amount of water required.
Please click
here
to study my main page about energy efficient appliances.
Thanks!
Do read my following, interesting web pages listed below:-
Click here
to return from energy efficient hot water heater to the HOME PAGE
|
