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How to Choose a Gas Water Heater
The Many Advantages of Choosing a Gas
Water Heater
By: Mark J. Donovan
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Hot water heaters inevitably where out over time, so
at some point in your home ownership life expect to have to go out and
purchase one. Whether you’re installing a new hot water heater for the
first time or replacing an existing one, it’s best to do your homework
first. There a number of options available to you when choosing a hot
water heater. For many, choosing a gas water heater makes a lot of
sense, particularly if the home already has gas supplied to it. |
For others, an oil gas fired water heater or electrical water heater may
be more appropriate. This said, choosing a gas water heater is often the better
choice, even if you do not have gas already piped into the home.
One of the chief advantages of choosing a gas water heater over an
electrical water heater is that they are much more efficient and cost
effective to operate. As a matter of fact, most Energy Star rated gas hot
water heaters operate at half the cost of electrical ones. This is an
extremely important point when you consider that the hot water heater is one
of, if not the highest, energy user in your home.
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Another advantage in choosing a gas water heater is that they heat water
much faster than electrical hot water heaters. But this said, regardless
of the type of hot water heater you purchase it is important to buy the
right size one for your home’s needs. Buy one too small, and it will
provide inadequate hot water to the home, run much more frequently, and
have a shortened lifespan. Buy one too large and you may end up using more
energy than you need due to the hot water heater having to turn on
periodically just to reheat the large volume of stored hot water.
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As already mentioned, a gas water heater heats water faster than other
types of hot water heaters. Typically a gas hot water heater can heat the
water in half the time of an electric hot water heater. As a result, when
there is high demand such as in the early mornings or late evenings you can be
assured to be able to take a hot shower while someone else is simultaneously
doing the morning dishes. Nothing could be more miserable than jumping into
the shower in the morning to find the water lukewarm.
When determining the necessary size for a hot water heater, consider the
number of bedrooms and bathrooms in the home. For the average 3 bedroom home,
with two bathrooms and 4 to 5 occupants, a 40 gallon gas hot water heater is
usually more than adequate. If on the other hand you have a hot tub or Jacuzzi
that is frequently used and/or have a number of teenagers living in the home
you may need a larger 50 gallon one. On the flip side if there are only one or
two occupants living in the home you can probably get away with a 30 gallon
one.
If your home does not already have gas piped into it and you want to pursue
the installation of a gas water heater, check with local gas companies to see
how much it would cost to have gas brought into your home. You may be
surprised how little it will cost you for the installation. Keep in mind, once
the gas is installed, the gas supplier knows he has a customer for a very long
time. As a result, they often provide installation of gas for a small cost.
So regardless of what size gas water heater you choose, you won’t go wrong on
reducing home energy costs, burning cleaner fuel, and ensuring fast delivery
of hot water.
For information on maximizing your
wood stove’s home heating efficiency see
the “Installation
of Hood over Wood Stove Ebook”.
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