How to Choose the Right Water Heater for Your Home

A water heater provides the hot water you and your family need so it is important to choose the right one for your home.  Here are some tips to help you in your decision.

You will have to determine which fuel type for your water heater to buy.  This will be electric, natural gas, or propane gas.  Then you will have to think about the size of your family to pick the right capacity for your water heater.  They are measured by gallons and this number lets you know how many gallons can be heated at one time.  If you choose a water heater that is too small, you will run out of hot water when you are taking a shower or doing laundry.

If you choose a water heater that is too big, you will never need all of the hot water and will be wasting energy heating up more than you need.  It takes electricity to keep the water warm and the smaller heart you get, the cheaper your utility bill will be.

The next step is to measure the area where the water heater will go to determine what size will fit in that space.  You will need to measure the height and width to ensure that you don’t get one too big to fit the area.

Once you know what water heater you need, you can contact your local plumber to help you find the right one and install it for you.  They will make sure everything is connected correctly and working so that you have hot water when you need it.

Size Matters With Water Heaters

When you are considering purchasing a conventional storage type water heater, be sure to choose one with the proper capacity.  A water heater that is too small will not be able to keep up with the demand for hot water and a water heater that is larger than necessary will be inefficient and cost more to operate.

A conventional tank type water heater keeps a full tank of water hot 24 hours a day.  Hot water is always available when needed, but a lot of energy is wasted keeping the water hot when it will not be needed for hours.  Called standby heat loss, the problem is worse the bigger the tank is.  Accordingly, you can minimize standby heat loss by purchasing the smallest sized water heater that will meet the demand.

Experts recommend using the “first hour rating” rather than tank size when selecting a storage type water heater.  The first hour rating is an indication of how much hot water a water heater can supply in one hour starting with a full tank of hot water.

Obviously, the size of the tank will affect the first hour rating but in addition, a water heater that can heat water quickly will have a higher first our rating than a water heater that heats water more slowly. The type of fuel (electric, natural gas, propoane, etc.) and the size of the heating element determine the rate at which a water heater can heat water.

The Department of Energy publishes tables that you can use to estimate your peak hourly demand for hot water.  Once you estimate your peak hourly demand, select a water heater that has a first hour rating within a couple gallons of that amount.