Water Heater Tank Size

April 25th, 2012 Posted in Water Heaters
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If you are replacing your existing water heater, choosing the right size can help you minimize energy costs.  With water heaters, bigger is not always better.  Don’t move up to a larger size water heater unless you really need to.

Most residential water heaters hold 40 to 50 gallons although you can find water heaters a small as 30 gallons and as large as 100 gallons.  Buying a water heater with a larger tank than you need will only increase your standby heat loss which is the energy consumed keeping the tank of water hot even though there is no immediate demand for hot water.

Consider whether you often ran out of water with your old water heater.  If the answer is no, then you don’t need a large size tank in your new water heater.  If you occasionally ran out of hot water, then you need to do a little more analysis.  Is your old water heater full of sediment?  If so, then the tank capacity was significantly reduced and a new water heater of the same size may provide all the hot water you need.

Did you run out of hot water while placing multiple demands on the water heater such as washing clothes or running the dishwasher while showering?  By spacing out the demand for hot water, you may be able to continue using a smaller, more energy efficient water heater rather than moving up to a bigger one.

If running out of hot water was a frequent occurrence due to your family size and lifestyle, then moving up to a bigger tank would be a good choice.

 

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Choosing a Conventional Storage Water Heater

April 25th, 2012 Posted in Water Heaters
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When you need a water heater replacement, you generally need one in a hurry.  Either the old water heater has quit working leaving you to deal with ice cold showers or worse, the old water heater has started leaking and flooded your den or basement.

Whether you fall into one of these categories or you are one of the fortunate few who have the foresight to replace your water heater before it goes out, don’t just choose the first water heater you see at the big box store.  Take a few minutes to sort through your options and choose a water heater that will do a great job for you and your family for years.

Choosing the proper tank size and a high R-value will help reduce your energy costs, but you should also focus on the first hour rating (FHR) to help you choose and appropriately sized water heater.  The first hour rating is the amount of water that a water heater can supply in an hour starting with a full tank of hot water.  The size of the tank affects the first hour rating, but so does the type of fuel (gas or electric) and the size of the heating element or burner.

First, estimate how much hot water is needed during the peak hour of hot water usage during the day.  For many families this is first thing in the morning when the family is getting ready for work and school.  In other households, it might be in the evening hours.

Once you have an estimate of the peak hour demand for hot water in your home, look for a water heater with FHR within a couple gallons of your peak hour demand.  This will help ensure that you will not run out of hot water during peak usage periods, but will minimize energy consumption for standby heat loss.

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Water Heater Standby Heat Loss

April 25th, 2012 Posted in Water Heaters
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Storage type water heaters have long been the most popular type of residential water heater.  A conventional storage type water heater keeps a tank full of water hot for use when needed.  Despite their popularity, storage water heaters waste energy due to standby heat loss and waste water when the tap has to run for a period of time before the hot water reaches the tap.

In an effort to address these concerns, many homeowners have converted to demand (or tankless) water heaters that only heat water when it is needed and can produce instant hot water if installed at every tap, but the conversion from a conventional storage type water heater to a demand water heater is expensive and demand water heaters have a few disadvantages that detract from the allure of instant hot water.

Sticking with a storage water heater offers the lowest up front cost and by choosing a properly sized energy efficient unit, your operating costs will not be a lot more than with an on-demand system.  The primary way that storage water heaters waste energy is through standby heat loss.  Energy is wasted by keeping the tank of water hot even when there is no demand for hot water.

You can minimize standby heat loss by looking for a water heater with a heavily insulated tank.  Thermal resistance is measured by R-Value and the higher the R-Value, the better insulated the tank is and the less energy that is wasted on standby heat loss.  Look for a minimum R-Value of R-12 and a higher R-Value would be better.  Some water heaters have thermal resistance of up to R-25.

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Water Heater Problems

April 25th, 2012 Posted in Water Heaters
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When your water heater goes out, you’re natural instinct is to call your plumber to get it fixed right away and while this is an excellent idea, take a few minutes before making the call to see if there is a simple problem that you can fix without an expensive emergency plumbing service call for water heater repairs.

Water heaters are relatively simple devices, but there are several problems that can arise.  A standard water heater is just a large tank with a heating element that heats up the tankful of water and keeps it hot and available to satisfy a demand for hot water.

If your water heater has stopped heating water completely, check the pilot light (if you have a gas unit) to make sure the pilot light has not gone out.  If so, re-light it and see if that solves the problem.  If the pilot light goes out often, have it checked out by your plumber.

If you have an electric water heater, check the circuit breaker to see if it has been tripped.  Resetting the circuit breaker may solve the problem, but if the breaker trips frequently you need to have your plumber inspect the unit.

Low water temperature could be a result of an improperly set thermostat or the thermostat could be working improperly.  If re-setting the temperature doesn’t help, replacing the thermostat might do the trick.

Sediment build up in the tank can also cause heating problems and a reduction in the capacity of the tank.  Your water heater should be periodically drained and flushed to maximize efficiency and service life.  This can be a pretty big job so if you don’t want to tackle it yourself, have the tank drained and flushed by your plumber.

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Hot Water Recirculating Systems

April 25th, 2012 Posted in Water Heaters
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If it seems like you spend a lot of time waiting for hot water to reach your tap, check to make sure your water heater temperature is set properly.  A temperature that is too low will cause a delay in hot water reaching your faucets, but the real problem in most cases is that there is a long distance between the water heater and the faucet. Running the faucet while waiting for the water to heat up is not only annoying, but it is a big waste of water.

Installing demand water heaters at each tap is an option, but there are some serious drawbacks to this approach not the least of which is the high cost of a demand water heater system. Insulating the hot water pipes may help, but the most effective solution is to install a hot water recirculating system.

Your plumber can easily install a hot water recirculating system on your existing plumbing that will circulate heated water throughout your hot water pipes.  By circulating the hot water, you will be assured of immediate hot water when you open the tap.  There is a small energy cost associated with these systems because the recirculating pumps operate continuously, but some systems are equipped with timers to minimize operating costs.

In addition, operating costs are offset by the savings in water usage due to no longer needing to wait for the water to heat up.  For instant hot water without the expense of an on demand (or tankless) water heater, talk to your plumber about installing a hot water recirculating system in your home.

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Why Do I Need A Thermal Expansion Tank?

April 24th, 2012 Posted in Water Heaters
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If you need to replace your traditional tank type water heater, your plumber may have recommended installation of a thermal expansion tank.  If you have never had one in the past, you may be wondering why or even if you need one.

First, the easy answer is many local building codes require thermal expansion tanks to be installed on storage tank type water heaters.  Local building codes change over time and even if a thermal expansion tank was not required when your home was built it may be a recently added requirement.  If required by local building codes, then you need a thermal expansion tank.

Even if they are not required by local building codes, a thermal expansion tank is necessary if you have a closed plumbing system.  In the past, most residential plumbing systems were open systems.  In an open system, water can theoretically flow both into the home and out of the home through the water supply line.  If there is a drop in water pressure from the municipal supply or an increase in pressure inside the home, water could flow backwards through the water supply line.

To address concerns about contamination of the municipal water supply, many local water authorities have begun to require a backflow prevention device to be installed at each residence.  Installation of a backflow prevention device creates a closed system that prevents water from flowing backwards through the water supply line.  The backflow prevention device only allows water to flow into the home from the municipal water supply.

Backflow prevention devices help prevent contamination of the municipal water supply, but they create a problem for storage tank type water heaters.  As water heats in the water heater, it expands.  In the past this was not a problem since the excess water could flow backwards through the water supply line.  However, in a closed system the excess water has nowhere to go and pressure will build inside the water heater and the home’s plumbing system.

A thermal expansion tank solves this problem by allowing the excess water to expand inside the thermal expansion tank.  If you have a closed plumbing system be sure to have your plumber install a thermal expansion tank on your water heater.

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Advantages of a Whole House Water Filtration System

April 20th, 2012 Posted in Uncategorized, Water Filtration
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If you are not satisfied with the water quality in your home, you have a few options when it comes to great tasting drinking water.  Many people choose to buy bottled water, but over time bottled water can become very expensive.  Depending on what type of bottled water you buy, it can cost from 200 to 10,000 times more than tap water.  In addition, millions of gallons of oil are used to manufacture the bottles which then take up space in our landfills.

A much better solution is to filter the tap water to reduce the amount of chlorine, chemicals, metals and other contaminates in the water.  A sink mounted filter can do the job, but a whole house water filter installed by your Buckhead plumbers is a much better alternative.  With a whole house water filtration system, the water coming out of every tap in your home will be clean and purified.

Even the water in your showers, toilets, washing machine, and dishwasher will be cleaner and healthier.  You and your family will bathe in purified water and your clothes and dishes will be washed in purified water.  In addition, the indoor air quality in your home will be improved by a whole house water filter.  These filtration systems reduce the amount of chlorine that off-gasses from your water into your home and forms chloroform.

Your Buckhead plumbers can help you select and install a whole house water filter that is right for your home.  The system is installed at the point of entry of your water supply so all the water in your home is clean and safe.  You and your family will enjoy fresh, clean great tasting water!

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Durable Copper Piping

April 20th, 2012 Posted in Plumbing Piping
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Copper piping has been a work horse of the residential Orlando plumbing industry for decades, especially for use in hot and cold water supply lines. There have been various alternatives to copper on the market, but only PEX piping is currently a popular alternative.

Despite the popularity of PEX, copper piping is still a great choice for residential plumbing applications.  Copper piping is a little more difficult to work with than PEX, but professional Orlando plumbers are experts at “sweating” (soldering) copper pipe and once a copper pipe joint has passed a leak check, it is very unlikely to ever develop a leak.  Leaks in properly joined copper piping are very rare.  The fittings do not deteriorate and joints do not pull apart which makes copper piping a great choice for Orlando plumbing repairs.

Copper piping has proven to be an extremely durable product.  Copper piping may be more expensive than PEX, but it has an almost unlimited service life which makes copper piping an excellent value.  Copper piping resists punctures and does not get brittle with age.  It does not burn or melt in a fire or give of toxic fumes.

In addition, unlike PEX copper piping is not affected by UV rays and can be installed outdoors.  PEX is for indoor use only. Copper piping is biostatic which means that it does not support bacteria growth inside the pipe.  It has been in use for years and is approved for use by all building codes.

Your Orlando plumbers can help you decide whether copper piping is the best choice for your Orlando plumbing repairs.

 

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Copper Piping Theft

April 20th, 2012 Posted in Plumbing Piping
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Imagine arriving home after a wonderful family vacation to find your home flooded with water, your ceilings torn apart, and your copper plumbing pipes torn out and missing.  What a mess!  Unfortunately, the rising price of scrap copper prices has led to a rise in the theft of all types of copper, including copper plumbing pipes throughout the Atlanta area.

Atlanta plumbers have been busy repairing the damage caused by thefts of copper piping.  These criminals often cause thousands of dollars in damage to get $50 or $100 worth of scrap copper pipe.  They leave behind damaged walls, ceilings, and floors.

The thieves used to target new construction, but these days they look for homes that are vacant and for sale, foreclosures, empty rental properties, and homes where the homeowners are away on vacation.  You can protect your home with an alarm system and by using timers to give the appearance that the home is occupied.

If you are the victim of this type of crime, call the police and contact your homeowner’s insurance carrier.  Be very careful about entering the home until you are certain it is safe.  Some copper thieves attempt to steal electrical wiring and can leave live wiring exposed.

To make your home less attractive to copper thieves, talk to your Atlanta plumbers about replacing the missing piping with PEX piping rather than copper piping. PEX is a type of plastic piping that is an excellent choice for residential indoor hot and cold water supply lines.  PEX is easy to work with, costs much less than copper, and since it’s plastic the copper thieves will leave it alone.  Your Atlanta plumbers will be able to help you decide is PEX is a good choice for your Atlanta plumbing repairs.

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Advantages of PEX Plumbing

April 20th, 2012 Posted in Plumbing Maintenance
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Do you need to repair or replace the hot or cold water supply lines in your Northern Virginia home?  Whether you plan to handle the job yourself or hire professional Northern Virginia plumbers, you should understand your options.  Two of the most common types of plumbing pipe in use today are PEX and copper piping.

Most homeowners are familiar with copper piping, but you may not have heard of PEX.  PEX is cross-linked polyethylene piping which means it is made out of plastic.  PEX has proven to be an excellent alternative to traditional copper piping for residential hot and cold water supply lines.

PEX can withstand hot and cold temperatures and, unlike copper, PEX can expand a little which means it is less likely to burst in below freezing temperatures.  PEX is flexible and easy to work with.  It can be bent around corners so fewer fittings are needed.  No soldering or messy glues are needed with PEX piping.

Connections and fittings are installed using a simple crimping tool.  For some homeowners, the cost of the specialized crimping tool is a disadvantage to PEX tubing.  Another disadvantage of PEX is that it cannot be installed outdoors.  Copper or PVC are good choices for outdoor potable water supply lines.

PEX is much less expensive than copper piping and is also less labor intensive.  Its ease of installation makes it a great choice for homeowner and plumbing professionals alike.   Many plumbers still prefer to use copper piping because they are familiar with it and have been working with it for years.  Copper is still an excellent choice, but don’t be surprised if your plumber recommends using PEX piping for your next plumbing repair.

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