Despite being among the most important appliances in your Louisville, KY home, your water heater is surprisingly easy to overlook. Until water heaters leak, burst, or fail outright, many consumers hardly think of them at all. From improving the quality and comfort of your baths and showers to saving you money, a new and highly efficient water heater can have a tremendous impact on your hygiene, your health, and your home’s habitability and comfort. The following are eight impressive benefits that you can enjoy by scheduling water heater replacement today.
1. Experience Quiet, Inconspicuous Water Heater Operation
Like all other major home appliances, water heaters tend to get louder with age. If your water heater has gone from making light ticking or humming sounds during operation to banging, clanging, or shrieking, you’ll love the whisper-quiet performance of a newer model. With less background noise, you’ll find it easier to hold hushed, indoor conversations, watch your television at a modest volume, and enjoy deep and restful sleep. Lacking heavy build-ups of sediment and other accumulated, age-related wear, a new water heater will get its job done without causing disruptions.
2. Get Rid of Standby Energy Losses
There are many water heater types currently available. You can choose from tankless and tank-based water heaters, electric, natural gas-fired, and hybrid designs, and units that are propane-powered. There are also small, point-of-use appliances that service single fixtures or rooms in smaller buildings and remote building areas. For many households, upgrading to tankless water heaters is a great way to reduce energy waste without experiencing any decreases in hot water delivery. This is because tankless units don’t experience standby energy losses.
Tanked or storage-based water heaters heat water up and then hold it until it’s used. To keep stored water at the right temperature, they repeatedly reheat it over time. To compare, tankless water heaters heat water on demand. No energy is consumed until a hot water tap or appliance is turned on. According to the United States Department of Energy (DOE), this alone makes new, tankless models as much as 34% more efficient than older, storage-based designs.
Even a New, Tank-Based Water Heater Will Cut Your Standby Energy Losses
Even if you opt to replace your older, storage-based water heater with another storage-based model, you can still look forward to fewer standby energy losses. While your new water heater will still heat water, store it, and reheat it as necessary, it won’t have a constantly burning pilot light.
Unlike water heaters that were manufactured before 2010, modern units don’t have these inefficient startup mechanisms. New gas-fired appliances have electronic ignition switches instead. These components use less energy at start-up and no energy when water heaters are in standby mode.
3. Take Advantage of Impressive Federal Incentives
Under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, homeowners can take advantage of impressive federal tax credits for home efficiency upgrades and the installation of high-efficiency home appliances. As per the DOE, you can get up to $600 in federal tax credits or up to 30% of your installation costs when installing a qualifying model. Although this won’t come as cash in hand, it will offset your end-of-year tax debt or increase your tax return.
4. Reclaim Usable Space
Older water heaters are large, cumbersome units that take up a lot of space. Newer, tankless models have sleek, slim profiles and far less conspicuous designs. If you choose to go tankless, you can reclaim usable area. You might gain more storage space in your basement or garage or you may be able to use a former utility closet for other purposes. Even new, storage-based models have more compact sizes due to efficiency-related upgrades.
5. Leverage the Latest Smart Technologies
According to the United States Energy Information Agency (EIA), water heating accounts for about 12% of the average household’s monthly energy bill. Fortunately, you can cut this portion of your overhead costs without having to shorten your showers or compromise your comfort in other ways. Many new water heaters come with highly efficient, smart capabilities that help minimize energy waste. Smart water heaters track, analyze, and predict usage, and they refine their operations accordingly.
If you opt for a tank-based water heater, a smart model will have the ability to turn itself off when you’re away and power back up just before you return. With an electronic ignition switch in place of a continuously burning pilot light and absolutely no standby energy losses when your home is empty, a smart, tanked water heater will give you noticeably lower energy bills and a much smaller carbon footprint overall.
With a smart water heater, you can:
- Pre-program your ideal water heating schedule
- Monitor your energy consumption
- Turn your unit off and on with ease
- Get performance alerts and maintenance reminders
Smart water heaters are learning devices. As such, they gradually become adept in adjusting their own settings based on residents’ schedules and behaviors. With a compatible model, you can seamlessly integrate your water heater with all of your other smart home features.
6. Improve the Value and Marketability of Your Home
7. Increase Your Hot Water Supply
It may be that your hot water demand has changed significantly since your current water heater was installed. Changes in the size of your household and various building modifications could make it necessary to find a larger water heater tank or to add more tankless water heaters to the building. As per the DOE, a single tankless water heater works best for homes that use 41 gallons or less of hot water each day, and a medium-size, 80-gallon water heater tank is ideally suited to just four or fewer people. If you’ve had an adult child move back in, are housing an age-in-place parent, or have recently welcomed a new baby, water heater replacement will give you the increased hot water service you need.
8. Limit the Need for Water Heater Repairs
Installing a new water heater will give you peace of mind. Not only do new and more efficient models save homeowners money by reducing their energy bills, but they also limit the need for repairs. Over time, heavy build-ups of sediment lead to loose and cracked connections, cracks in water heaters’ glass liners, and other cumulative damages. Older models are more prone to leaks, ruptures, and pressure-related issues, and they often require more maintenance from year to year.
With a new unit, you won’t have to worry about your water heater spilling its contents on your floors or distributing rusty, discolored water. With many new models lasting between 10 and 15 years, you can also look forward to renewed warranty productions that cover all repairs or replacements resulting from improper assembly, defective parts, or other manufacturer errors.
Trust the Professionals
Residents of Louisville, KY can count on us for top-quality products and superior workmanship. We provide first-rate plumbing, electrical, and HVAC services. From GFCI upgrades to water heater replacement, we do it all. To find out about our preventative maintenance plans or schedule an appointment, contact Bryant Heating, Cooling, Plumbing & Electric now.
