How to Choose the Right Hot Water System and Save on Your Water Heating Bills
Water heating accounts for the second-highest household energy consumption (21%), after heating and cooling (40%). This is why you must choose a hot water system that meets the hot water needs of the entire household and operates with efficiency.
It’s the best way to cut cost and enjoy the luxury of hot a shower and hot water on demand.
Two main things will help you choose the optimum water heater—water usage per household and the type/model of equipment.
Understand water usage based on the size of the household
One person typically uses 50L of hot water in a day but may require more if they shower longer, wash clothes in warm or hot water often, and use the dishwasher frequently.
A small household has to 1 to 2 people, medium-sized at 3 to 4 people, and large-sizes at 5 or more people.
By simple calculation, it will be easy to see how much hot water is needed per household. But the typical consumption rate doesn’t apply in every situation.
It’s important to have your home’s hot water needs analysed by a hot water system supplier and get recommendations for the best options.
They will look into:
- The number of people who live in a home
- The total amount of hot water used in a day
- The time of day or night that hot water is high in demand
It makes a difference if all of you shower in the morning or evening, which explains why proper analysis of water usage is necessary.
Identify the right hot water system for your household needs
There are 5 main criteria: heating method, storage or continuous flow, size, cost, and energy efficiency.
Each of these factors has an impact on energy use and utility cost. The better you understand each one, the easier it is to compare different models.
Heating methods
A hot water system can run on electricity, natural gas, solar energy or via a heat pump. Each method comes with its share of advantages and disadvantages.
A hot water system that is electrically heated, for example, is affordable to buy and install but expensive to run. You can always choose a water heater that runs on off-peak electricity, but it will require you to invest in a larger tank.
Storage or continuous flow
Most hot water systems use a storage tank, while others heat water “instantaneously” as water passes through the heater and out to the tap or shower. Between the two, the latter provides hot water on demand in every sense.
Size
Properly sizing a water heater, depends on the hot water needs of a household. It must not be too small that hot water continually runs out or too large that it will be difficult to maintain optimal water temperature.
Cost
Take into account maintenance and annual operating costs for each type of hot water system. Heaters with storage tanks that are not heavily insulated, for example, waste energy because of standby heat loss, making it more expensive to run annually.
Energy efficiency
Always check how energy efficient a hot water system is to maximise savings on cost and power consumption. Each model has different energy factor based on recovery efficiency, standby losses, and cycling losses.
Now that you know the various factors that make a suitable hot water system in your home, it’s time to use all of them to make the right choice.
To help you get started, a four-person household will need…
- A 125–160L tank of water that is electrically heated via a continuous flow system
- About 135–170L tank of water that is heated using natural gas
- A 300–360L tank and two solar panels to have enough solar-heated hot water.
- A 270–315L tank of water heated via a heat pump.
Need more information and advice? Let hot water system plumbers & engineers from DBA Plumbing & Gas help.
