Buildings

Water Heater Replacement

Q: My neighbor’s water heater died, and I’m guessing mine will go soon since our homes were built by the same builder at the same time, and we have the same water heater. I’ve done some research on the internet, but the more I read the more confused I get- Tank or tankless heaters? Gas or electric? Solar? What’s the best option for me?

A: As with so many of these things, the answer is “depends.” Do you have access to natural gas (bottled gas—LP, Propane—is generally much more expensive than natural gas)? How many people live in your house? Are any of them teenagers? Does your property get a lot of sun? Do you heat your house with a boiler? Do you want to do what makes the most financial sense in the long run or right now? Do you want to improve your environmental impact? Most of us don’t think about these things, but all of these questions are important when considering replacing your water heater.

Usually, when the water heater stops working, you call someone highly recommended by the neighbor’s third cousin’s former boyfriend, who comes out and either fixes it or pronounces it dead. At that point, you’ve already been without hot water for a day or more, and your priority is to get it back as quickly as possible. For most of us, that means our choices are limited to what our plumber has available. Typically, they simply replace it with one of a similar size, or the next size up, “just to be sure.” The contractor wants to fix the issue and not get called back for the same reason. He knows you’ll never call him because your bills are too high (how would you know?), or because you’re generating too many greenhouse gasses. This isn’t necessarily because he doesn’t care about these issues, but experience has taught him most of his customers don’t care about these issues enough to be inconvenienced or pay more. If you are willing to put up with a little inconvenience, or to pay more now to save money in the long run, now is the time to do the research and make some decisions, including who you’ll call when the need arises. Waiting until the unit dies the night before your son’s first date is not conducive to rational decision-making.

The amount of information available on the Internet is both a blessing and a curse. With enough time and patience, you can educate yourself to make a sound decision, but sorting through so much information can be trying. The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy site has several good worksheets and other helpful information. The ENERGY STAR® site is also useful [click on “Products” and then various types of water heaters under “Plumbing”], but even on a good site you have to make sure the information actually applies to you.

Applying the information you find online to your own situation can be difficult, especially since the formulas used to calculate even basic questions like how much hot water you need are based on national averages. There is a very good chance you are not the average. For instance, the formulas ask how many loads of laundry you might do in a one-hour period. On average, each load uses about 20 gallons of hot water, but maybe you recently purchased a new washing machine and can use cold water for all the washing. Similarly, if you have water-saving shower heads and faucets, you’ll use less than average. If you have people in the house who like to take long showers, you’ll use more. Looking at average numbers is useful for getting in the right ballpark, but it’s only effective if you then apply those averages to your own situation.

Here are some other things to think about as you're doing your reasearch:

How much hot water do you need?Most of the guidelines for sizing water heaters are based on out-dated assumptions that the current economy has many people questioning. Many of us have water-saving shower heads and use laundry detergents that don’t require hot water. Is it really essential to guarantee we always have as much hot water as we want, or could we live a perfectly happy life even if we had to wait for a shower a few times a year when the relatives come for a weekend? If we could save a few bucks a month by having a smaller tank, would we choose to do that? There’s no right answer. Some of us feel it is absolutely essential to never run out of hot water. Others would rather put up with some minor inconvenience and use that money to go out to dinner, donate to Haiti relief efforts or buy a book. Most of us never have the opportunity to make that choice because it’s made for us or made under pressure. A little thought and planning can give us a little more control.
Tanks vs. Tankless.Tankless water heaters are not new, but they are promoted with religious zeal. They are probably much more common, worldwide, than the storage tank models most of us grew up with. When I lived in England in the 60’s, most apartments came with tankless water heaters. When you wanted hot water, you fed coins into a slot. In much of the third world, if you stay in a hotel or guest house in the moderate economy range, hot water is created by an electric heater mounted on the shower head, bare wires and all. Sometimes, this can be a shocking experience. Modern tankless water heaters available in the U.S. are much more sophisticated, efficient and safe, but they are not a cure-all. Electric ones are rarely worth considering, and whether gas ones will save you money depends a lot on who lives in the house. Some people, particularly teenagers, will take endless showers if there is endless hot water, increasing your bills. Modern tanks are much better insulated than older models, so the “standby losses” – the energy lost by the tank when you’re not using hot water – are not as great as they used to be, so the tankless models don’t have as big an advantage.
How about a solar water heater?These are much more expensive in the short run, $6-7,000 or more, but there are excellent state and federal tax credits available in North Carolina that can reduce the cost by 65 percent. That means if you pay $7,000 for the system, you’ll get back $4,550 at tax time, so it’s costing you $2,450. Typically, you can expect to save about $300-400 per year, so the system will pay for itself in six to eight years, and should last for at least 15. The key is to get an experienced, reliable installer, who will be in business long enough to service the system when it needs it. Saving a few hundred dollars on bargain equipment or a low-bid contractor is probably not wise.
Any new products I should know about?There’s a relatively new product called the Heat Pump Water Heater. While they’ve been around for 10 or 15 years or more, very few have been installed in North Carolina. My limited experience with them has been very positive: they seem to work well, saving almost as much as solar heaters, but for a much lower cost, typically $1,200-2,000 installed. How well they’ll hold up, and how easy they will be to service are questions at this point, but this option is definitely worth considering.

Finally, if you do find yourself in that crisis situation, you can still get a water heater that’s more efficient than the standard models. Get an electric model with an Energy Factor (EF) of at least .93 or a gas model with an EF of at least 61. These won’t save you nearly as much as the high-efficiency types above, but at least you’ll be saving something.