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Types Of Water Heaters And Their Efficiency

When you need a new water heater Ocean County you want to make sure that you get an efficient one.  One way to know how efficient it will be is to look at the Energy Guide that is required to be put on water heaters, refrigerators, freezers, etc.  It will tell you the overall efficiency of the water heater.  It will also let you know how many gallons of water that it can heat on average per hour. The Energy Factor (EF) and First-hour Rating (FHR) are what these ratings are called.

Energy Factor

This measures the water heater’s overall efficiency.  It does this by comparing the amount of energy it puts out to the amount of energy that is coming into the heater.  It will usually range from 0.5 to 2.0 but the numbers will vary between models.  The higher the number is the more efficient the model.

First Hour Rating

This indicates just how many gallons of water the water heater will produce during peak usage times. Most water heaters will heat between 50-67 gallons of water each hour.

Types of Water Heaters

On-demand—this type is also known as a spontaneous water heater or tankless water heater. It is fueled either by electricity or gas.  This time is smaller than a conventional model.  It also does not keep a reservoir of heated water on hand.  When you turn on the hot water faucet, the fuel source will start to heat the water as it runs into the heater, and then it is delivered through the faucet.  The EF of this type has an average of 0.82 with the FHR being 2.5 gallons of water per minute. Conventional—this will run on electricity or gas and uses a tank in which to store water that is heated when the water enters the storage tank. When the hot water leaves the tank the tank will be refilled with cold water.  It will be heated while it is stored.  The EF, on average, is 0.64 and the FHR averages 67 gallons each hour.  Some feel that this is an inefficient water heater because of the constant use of energy that is needed to keep the water heated. Heat pump—this one runs on electricity to pull the heat out of the surrounding air. The heat is then moved into a storage tank where it will be used to heat water.  It has an average EF of 2.0 and the HER averages 50 gallons of water per hour.  The efficiency of this water heater should be considered and is powered by electricity only, which some do not prefer. Solar—this is powered by solar panels and storage tanks and has an average EF of 0.5 but there is no information on the FHR because it will vary due to many factors such as the amount of sun exposure, time of year, and heater’s location.

You can install the first three water heaters yourself or contact a plumber Bayville to install it for you.