56-60, M
whowasthatmaskedman · 70-79, M
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whowasthatmaskedman · 70-79, M
@SomeMichGuy Now I understand..In our case, maybe we should have chosen a larger capacity unit. Three bathrooms and two kitchens, plus the laundry is a challenge. But as I am on my own here now the problem never occurs..😷
SomeMichGuy · M
swirlie · 31-35
A water heater choice is determined by how many people live in the house who use hot water at the same time... 2 parents and 2 teenaged kids for example, particularly female teenagers who use way more hot water than their brothers do, or so I'm told!
Gas fired hot water heaters which typically have a 40 gallon tank associated, are the least expensive form of gas-fired hot water for the household.
The only problem is, they run occasionally throughout the day to keep the 40 gallons of stored water up to proper temp. The advantage of having stored hot water however, is that if the electrical power ever goes off for an extended period of time, you'll have sufficient hot water available for minimal washing for a period of at least 24 hours before the stored water reverts to ambient temperature.
Gas fired hot water heaters which are called "On Demand" water heaters are the most expensive to purchase because they deliver instant hot water, but they have no capability of storing any of it. The burner unit only operates when the hot water tap is turned on at any sink, shower or bathtub.
"On Demand" units are pricy compared to storage tank units but their advantage is that they use the least amount of natural gas to make hot water fast... AND they take up no space at all in the basement of a house, mainly because they can be ceiling-mounted in the utility room associated with a furnace, etc.
If space is an issue or natural gas is expensive where you live, then an On Demand unit would be a better choice over a gas-fired storage tank unit.
The only problem with a gas water heater of either kind mentioned above, is their total efficiency rating.
A gas water heater has an overall efficiency rating of about 67% which is no different than a gas fireplace in a home.
What this means is, 67% of the gas that is burnt is used to heat the water or the surrounding air in the case of a gas fireplace, which means that 33% of the total gas used does not actually get burnt in the process, but actually goes out the chimney as un-burnt hydrocarbons. This is caused by the inherent inefficiency of the burner unit itself, be it a burner unit on a water heater of any kind, or the burner unit of a gas fireplace of any make or model. Their max efficiency is only 67% at best.
Therefore, to turn on the gas fireplace to save fuel by leaving the household furnace off, is a fallacy in perception regarding the gas fireplace itself, as well as a complete waste of natural gas in the process.
The only household appliance that has a maximum efficiency to burn natural gas (or propane) as cleanly as possible, is what's called a 'low efficiency', a 'high efficiency' or a 'very high efficiency' furnace for heating the home.
A 'low efficiency' furnace has an efficiency rating of about 87% and is relatively cheap to purchase.
A 'high efficiency' furnace has an efficiency rating of 95% and is more expensive to purchase than a low efficiency unit.
A 'very high efficiency' furnace has an efficiency rating of 97% and costs upwards of 25% more than a high efficiency unit to purchase, but has other advantages not associated with it's fuel burn efficiency that might justify it's additional cost.
The most efficient form of energy that can be used in a home is electricity.
When electricity is used to heat a home using baseboard register heating units for example, the efficiency rating of that appliance is always 100%... which means 100% of the electricity used is converted into heat and no electricity is wasted in the process. There is no wasted energy associated with electric heat, but it is more expensive than gas. If gas furnaces were as efficient as electric furnaces, your monthly gas bill would be a non-issue.
When it comes to electrically heated water heaters, you are dealing with an appliance that is not only 1/4 of the price of a gas water heater of any make or model, you are also dealing with an appliance that is 100% efficient in terms of the energy that it uses to heat water.
Electric hot water heaters made today are 10 times faster at heating water than those manufactured 30 or 40 years ago, simply because the technology has advanced SO far since the 'olden days', which of course was that period in human evolution that occurred before I was born.
Additionally, if you have kids that use a lot of water, you can have a dedicated electric hot water tank mounted under the kitchen sink which has a 5 gallon tank that is dedicated to the kitchen-only if you want to, or a 5 gallon tank that is dedicated to a laundry room as another example.
You can achieve all this for a very low cost and an easy installation. Most electric water heaters for a home come with a 40 gallon tank which operate on 'standard' household voltages for your region and can be located anywhere in the house and have their own dedicated circuit breaker in the 'fuse box'.. 🤭
Gas fired hot water heaters which typically have a 40 gallon tank associated, are the least expensive form of gas-fired hot water for the household.
The only problem is, they run occasionally throughout the day to keep the 40 gallons of stored water up to proper temp. The advantage of having stored hot water however, is that if the electrical power ever goes off for an extended period of time, you'll have sufficient hot water available for minimal washing for a period of at least 24 hours before the stored water reverts to ambient temperature.
Gas fired hot water heaters which are called "On Demand" water heaters are the most expensive to purchase because they deliver instant hot water, but they have no capability of storing any of it. The burner unit only operates when the hot water tap is turned on at any sink, shower or bathtub.
"On Demand" units are pricy compared to storage tank units but their advantage is that they use the least amount of natural gas to make hot water fast... AND they take up no space at all in the basement of a house, mainly because they can be ceiling-mounted in the utility room associated with a furnace, etc.
If space is an issue or natural gas is expensive where you live, then an On Demand unit would be a better choice over a gas-fired storage tank unit.
The only problem with a gas water heater of either kind mentioned above, is their total efficiency rating.
A gas water heater has an overall efficiency rating of about 67% which is no different than a gas fireplace in a home.
What this means is, 67% of the gas that is burnt is used to heat the water or the surrounding air in the case of a gas fireplace, which means that 33% of the total gas used does not actually get burnt in the process, but actually goes out the chimney as un-burnt hydrocarbons. This is caused by the inherent inefficiency of the burner unit itself, be it a burner unit on a water heater of any kind, or the burner unit of a gas fireplace of any make or model. Their max efficiency is only 67% at best.
Therefore, to turn on the gas fireplace to save fuel by leaving the household furnace off, is a fallacy in perception regarding the gas fireplace itself, as well as a complete waste of natural gas in the process.
The only household appliance that has a maximum efficiency to burn natural gas (or propane) as cleanly as possible, is what's called a 'low efficiency', a 'high efficiency' or a 'very high efficiency' furnace for heating the home.
A 'low efficiency' furnace has an efficiency rating of about 87% and is relatively cheap to purchase.
A 'high efficiency' furnace has an efficiency rating of 95% and is more expensive to purchase than a low efficiency unit.
A 'very high efficiency' furnace has an efficiency rating of 97% and costs upwards of 25% more than a high efficiency unit to purchase, but has other advantages not associated with it's fuel burn efficiency that might justify it's additional cost.
The most efficient form of energy that can be used in a home is electricity.
When electricity is used to heat a home using baseboard register heating units for example, the efficiency rating of that appliance is always 100%... which means 100% of the electricity used is converted into heat and no electricity is wasted in the process. There is no wasted energy associated with electric heat, but it is more expensive than gas. If gas furnaces were as efficient as electric furnaces, your monthly gas bill would be a non-issue.
When it comes to electrically heated water heaters, you are dealing with an appliance that is not only 1/4 of the price of a gas water heater of any make or model, you are also dealing with an appliance that is 100% efficient in terms of the energy that it uses to heat water.
Electric hot water heaters made today are 10 times faster at heating water than those manufactured 30 or 40 years ago, simply because the technology has advanced SO far since the 'olden days', which of course was that period in human evolution that occurred before I was born.
Additionally, if you have kids that use a lot of water, you can have a dedicated electric hot water tank mounted under the kitchen sink which has a 5 gallon tank that is dedicated to the kitchen-only if you want to, or a 5 gallon tank that is dedicated to a laundry room as another example.
You can achieve all this for a very low cost and an easy installation. Most electric water heaters for a home come with a 40 gallon tank which operate on 'standard' household voltages for your region and can be located anywhere in the house and have their own dedicated circuit breaker in the 'fuse box'.. 🤭
SomeMichGuy · M
