Water Heater Efficiency & Water Heater Installation

---

The water heater is the true workhorse of your home. It keeps you supplied with hot water whenever you need it. Water heaters are essential to your everyday comfort, hygiene, and safety in your home. So when your old water heater starts to give out, you’ll notice the signs. When it’s time for water heater installation in Greenfield, you’ll need to think about the efficiency level of the new system. You may not think that an efficient water heater is as important as the efficiency of your HVAC systems, but consider this: your water heater accounts for almost 18% of your home’s energy expenditures! Let’s go over some basics to be aware of.

The Type of Water Heater & Energy Consumption

The type of water heater you purchase is the first factor you should consider if you desire an energy-efficient unit. Generally speaking, tankless water heaters are considered more energy-efficient than standard or tank water heaters.

• Tank water heaters: Also called conventional or storage water heaters, these keep a “tank” of hot water ready at all times. As you can imagine, this requires energy usage 24 hours a day, 365 days a year as the water heater is always using energy to keep a supply of hot water at-the-ready. Although they’re less energy efficient than tankless models, there are features you can choose to increase energy efficiency.
• Tankless water heaters: Also called on-demand water heaters, they heat water “on demand” without the use of a storage tank. Because water is heated only as you need it, these use a lot less energy than their tank counterparts. According to the DOE, they can be 24–34% more efficient, which is impressive!

Energy Star Ratings

An easy way to select an energy-efficient water heater is to choose an ENERGY STAR-certified model. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) gives an ENERGY STAR certification to water heaters that use less energy. You may even qualify for tax credits for buying ENERGY STAR products. The rating is based on the water heater’s uniform energy factor (UEF) rating.

A water heater’s UEF rating is a measure of its energy efficiency. The higher the UEF number, the more energy-efficient the water heater. Similar to AFUE ratings for furnaces, the UEF rating is based on how much energy the water heater uses and how much energy is used to power the water heater itself.

Here are the minimum UEF ratings for a water heater to earn ENERGY-STAR approval.

• Gas tank water heater (up to 55 gallons) must have a minimum UEF of 0.81
• Gas tank water heater (55+ gallons) must have a minimum UEF of 0.86
• Gas tankless water heater must have a minimum UEF of 0.87

When you need a trusted team to turn to for your water heater purchase and installation, you needn’t look any further than Jake’s crew! We install tank and tankless water heaters, and we can recommend the best water heater installation for your specific needs.

---