A conventional water heater typically lasts about 8-10 years – although that number that can change quite a bit based on how well it’s made, how hard the water in your home is, and how well your equipment was installed and maintained.
Based on statistics alone, however, it’s a good idea to be proactive and replace your propane water heater once it hits its second decade – you’ll improve performance dramatically with a high efficiency water heater upgrade, and you just might avoid an unplanned flood in your basement.
The question is how do you choose a water heater that’s just right for your Ontario home? In this two-part post, we’ll help sort out considerations for making a smart water heater choice.
Shopping for a water heater: first steps
Before shopping for a new water heater, it’s helpful to know what kind of equipment you already have, and to assess if it’s doing its job well enough for you.
Most of the information about your water heater – including its tank capacity, R-value (the amount of insulation the unit has) and serial number – can be found on the water heater’s nameplate (usually on the lower part of the storage tank). If you have an electric water heater, the nameplate will also list the wattage capacity and voltage of the heating elements.
Once you’ve noted (or even better, photographed) this information, ask yourself:
- Does hot water ever run out when you’re in the shower?
- Do you avoid showering and washing clothes or dishes at the same time?
- If you run out of hot water, how long does it take before the water is hot again?
- Are you energy bills considerably higher than you think they should be?
These answers will help you determine if your water heater’s storage tank is large enough for your needs. Of course, you might opt to skip using a water heater storage tank at all – more on that possibility in Part 2 of this post. Stay tuned!
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