As a homeowner, you are no doubt looking for ways to make your house more energy efficient, and for good reason too, since it reduces your monthly utility bills and decreases the home’s carbon footprint.
Many homeowners have created greater energy efficiency by installing a tankless water heater. Unlike conventional water heaters, a tankless version only produces hot water when you need it. This eliminates the energy-draining task of constantly warming a large supply of water.
While energy efficiency and lower monthly utility bills are a great incentive in and of themselves, there are also some physical signs that its time for a new water heater. For example, if the tank is more than 10 years old, fails to keep a consistent water temperature or begins to show signs of water leakage around the base, it’s worth looking into a replacement, according to home buying guide Zillow.com.
Let’s unpack the advantages of a tankless water heater a bit more.
1. Opportunities to save energy – and money
As noted by the U.S. Department of Energy, a tankless water heater can be 24 to 34 percent more efficient than conventional storage tank water heaters. With greater energy efficiency comes a reduction in your monthly utility bills. For large households that use a considerable amount of water, a tankless water heater ultimately saves you, even more, money – up to $160 per year.
An efficiency increase comes with another boost: your home value. As noted by the National Association of Home Builders, for every $1,000 in annual utility savings, home buyers are willing to pay an additional $10,732 on the house’s price tag.
2. Decrease your carbon footprint
Greater energy efficiency means you’re using fewer natural resources. While renewable energy is making inroads in many regions, burning fossil fuels, such as coal and natural gas, remains the most common way to power homes and businesses across the country. This means as you make your home more energy-efficient, it also decreases your overall carbon footprint. With the reduction in energy used to warm water with a tankless system, you can rest easy knowing you’ve done your part of making the environment more sustainable.
3. Replacing now frees up your time
Unlike storage water heaters that only last 10 to 15 years, tankless water heaters continue working for more than 20 years. Further, tankless systems have easily fixable parts that prolong their life expectancy even more. Replacing your current storage water heater now means it could be the last time you think about your water heating needs for the next few decades.
Making the switch to a tankless water heater is a great idea, and this moment couldn’t be more perfect for installing one – there’s no better time than the present to start saving money. The sooner you make the switch, the sooner you can lower utility bills.
