If you are in the market for a new water heater, you will quickly realize you have a lot of options. What product will be best for your household? Here are some things to consider when choosing a new water heater.
Something needs to heat the water in your heater. The two main options are gas and electricity. Natural gas or propane can be used in homes that provide it. Gas costs less than electricity and heats faster, but it may require more maintenance. Electric options are safer since they don’t use a pilot, and they are more efficient. However, both will get the job done, so you can’t go wrong either way. You can talk to your water heater installation company, like Mr. Waterheater, about which option might be better for your home.
Most heaters will come with a tank. The tank stores the hot water for you to have hot water on demand when you need it. When the tank runs out of hot water, you need to wait for it to fill back up and heat up before you have hot water again. This means you want a tank that can handle all of your hot water needs at the peak hour of the day.
There are also tankless options that don’t require space in your home for a giant tank. It provides hot water on demand, but you need to ensure it will cover your needs at the most on-demand times.
Arguably more important than the tank size is the first hour rating (FHR). This refers to how much hot water the unit will produce in an hour. You want to know that when you heat your water, it will heat in a timely fashion. The FHR will be printed on the unit to help you make your decision.
Heating up the water in your home takes up a lot of energy. You want something that will keep your utility bills under control while still providing enough heat. Luckily, every unit will come with an efficiency rating to let you know how efficient it is. Generally speaking, hybrid and tankless options give you the best efficiency ratings, but these options may require a higher upfront investment.
Hot water keeps you and everyone else in your home comfortable. Talk to your local plumber to learn more about your options and why you might want to pick one option over another. You will need to decide whether you want savings up front or down the road in your utility bills.
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