Personalized Home Water Heater Installation
Sizing a water heater accurately is crucial. If a water heater is too small, you’ll run out of hot water easily. If it’s too large, you’ll spend money unnecessarily day in and day out.
How big a water heater does your family need? The average U.S. home has at least a 40 to 50-gallon tank, though many homes will want something bigger. We can help you determine a baseline by accounting for household and house size. Our installer can adjust from there based on your appliances and other water-using systems.
Another consideration is the power or fuel source. Electric water heaters tend to be cheaper and more efficient. That said, they can cost more in the long term due to the price of electricity. The exception would be a heat pump water heater, which costs more upfront. This is why many homes in our service areas have gas water heaters. They are a good fit for our area, where most homes have natural gas access. If you don’t have gas already, adding the gas lines adds significantly to the cost, but the water heater itself will be more affordable.
If you opt for a fuel-burning water heater, you have the option of a condensing model. The typical gas water heater is about 80% efficient. Condensing models are 90% efficient or higher. Traditional gas water heaters lose heat through venting toxic gases, but condensing systems avoid most of that loss by using a second heat exchanger.
When comparing water heaters, there are two important considerations: uniform energy factor (UEF) and first hour rating (FHR). UEF indicates energy efficiency. A water heater with a higher UEF will be cheaper to run. FHR indicates the amount of hot water the unit can potentially provide for the first hour of operation each day. The higher the FHR, the more demand the water heater will be able to handle.
There are many excellent reasons to opt for new water heater installation.
- More hot water
- Energy incentives
- Faster water heating
- Lower water heating costs
- Smaller household carbon footprint