Introduction:

Global warming impact to our quality and cost of living is large and very catastrophic. Homeowners are well aware of the increasing energy costs to heat, cool and illuminate their homes. The increasing costs of oil and other fossil fuels are daily headlines. The insatiable demand for energy to fuel world growth guarantees that the cost of these limited fuels will continue to increase. Political/economic forces will determine the rate of increase for fossil fuels. In addition, the increasing cost of global warming using fossil fuels is slowly being recognized.

The world is slowly beginning to understand the urgent need for renewable energy sources. However, each of these alternative energy sources brings major advantages and disadvantages. An example is wind generated energy. Wind energy is available to the whole world and generates electricity competitively with fossil fuels. The technology is understood and easy to apply. But, there are big objections to a windmill in “my back yard”. Also, the number of birds and bats that will be crushed with wind power generation is not a warming thought. Wind technology will be a component of our energy solution. However, because of the above concerns, we need other major more…

In this article I will cover energy efficient water heaters. We will not talk about the energy efficient tankless water heaters because they are covered in detail in a previous article. Go to our web site to see it.

Energy efficiency is a hot topic right now and new technologies are being introduced everyday. We recommend that you do not wait until you need a new water heater to do your research. You may find yourself buying what ever is available, instead of what is best! This is not a good plan since your hot water heater is the biggest waste of your energy costs. So do your research now, and double check it just when you are ready to purchase.

Consumers have a tendency to purchase their heater based on size. Actually the First Hour Rating (FHR) is more important to consider. The FHR represents the amount of hot water that the unit will deliver during a busy hour. Estimate your family’s usage during the peak hour usage and find a unit with a FHR that will cover it.

The most energy efficient water heaters are generally gas fired. Electric resistance is an expensive way to generate heat and not as environmentally more…