Replacing water heaters: options and solutions

Changing your water heater system? You may change the fuel-system, or consider the solar water heating option. Or you can simply update your system to a more energy-efficient gas or electric system... The final choice will always depend on your preferences, but there are several trade-offs - involving the prices of the different types of water heaters, the energy savings and the installation and up-front costs - that should be addressed…

Changing to what?

There are now new systems that provide significantly lower hot water costs than regular electric and gas units.

Solar water heaters are a good and tested option, installed in millions of homes worldwide. But the up-front costs are relatively high, especially since they also demand a backup system...

Other options include new condensing gas water heaters (storage and tankless) and, in the electric class, the heat pump water heaters. These units will run with half the electricity demanded by regular electric water heaters.

The problem with all these new water heating solutions is their high up-front investment (often above $1.500 or even $2.000) and the installation costs.

The changing costs

A new system running on solar energy or gas can bring huge energy savings, that can make the up-front investment worth.

But not always. Replacing a regular electric water heating system with a gas one, or even replacing a gas storage system with a tankless unit can involve installation costs of $1.000, $2.000 or even $3.000. And that, added to the cost of the new water heater, can make the investment disadvantageous. It depends a lot on the levels of your hot water consumption: the higher they are the more advantageous the alternatives to conventional water heating systems.

When to consider the High-Efficiency Gas Storage option

If you currently have an old gas storage water heater and you do not want to make a significant upfront investment and are satisfied with your type of water heating, bet on a modern high-efficient gas storage unit. It may cost you $500 or so more than a regular low-efficient gas storage model, but your hot water bills can be reduced by about 5 to 10%...

When to consider the High-Efficiency Gas Tankless option

If you are remodeling your home and are having problems with your hot water system (water leaks, running out of hot water…), and you don’t mind to pay installation costs often estimated in the range $1.500 - $3000, a high efficiency gas tankless hot water heater can provide hot water energy savings of 20-30% and a longer lifespan...

When to consider the High-Efficiency Electric Heat Pump option

If you have an electric water heating system and you do not rule out paying an high initial investment and installing a new venting and draining system, the electric hot water heat pump option can provide you electricity savings up to 50%.

When to consider the Solar Water Heating Option

Solar water heating systems aren't only for environmentalists or for moderate and sunny climates. If you can access to sunshine on your home’s roof or close to the outside of your home, and are willing to make a significant up-front investment, solar water heaters are a very cost-effective solution.

The solar components may cost you, say, $1.000-$2.000 (depending on the type of system and climate), and you will need a gas or electric backup system (to provide hot water on cloudy periods), but you will recover the investment in a few years time (see: Solar Water Heaters: Advantages and Disadvantages).