In Hot Water? The best Hot Water systems

Hot water we all love it! You know on a cold winter night it feels great to have a long hot shower. If only the hot water lasted longer and you had no need to yell ‘out of the shower’ three times to get your teenager to turn the hot water off. You know if you don’t, you may not get more than 30 seconds of lukewarm water from your water heater and it leaves you asking, Have I got the best hot water system for our needs? or should you only let them have a shower after you and they can have all the lukewarm and cold water they want!

So what are the best hot water systems?

This depends on your needs and budget. For example, if you have a large family and have natural gas piped into your street then instantaneous gas maybe the best.

Solar is a good one and the best for saving money over the long term, but does it work well in winter? – er’ no not always (I have one – the older type). However it does work brilliantly in summer with no heating costs. Also what about heat pump hot water. It is fairly new for hot water but it has a great energy rating.

Hot Water Types:

• Electric heated storage (tank) hot water
• Solar hot water – Old style with panels and the tank on the roof.
• Solar hot Water – New technology with gas filled tubes.
• Heat Pump Hot water – a small heat pump is mounted on the storage tank.
• Gas heated storage hot water – Gas heated tank.
• Gas heated instantaneous hot water.

The best hot water systems for saving energy

1. Both solar hot water types are good but the newer gas filled tube type is best, it also does not need any frost protection and is a lot  more efficient than the older type. Also most of the older models have their electric back up element in the middle of  tank and this means in winter it will not heat the whole tank of hot water. For example if you have a 300 litre tank  and if the sun does no shine well you will only get about 240 litres of hot water but in summer you get loads of free hot water.
2. The Heat pump was said to be more efficient than solar when it was first released but with rising electricity prices I doubt this is the case. They are however a good option and work by heating the water with the heat in the air and this does work well even if it is very cold. One draw back is their are more parts to the system and thus more that can go wrong plus as mentioned, rising electricity prices.
3. Gas is a great option in both storage and instant hot water but only if you have natural gas in your street. Bottled gas is two expensive if you have a large family but natural gas is a good option for a larger family.

What type do you have?  If you are building or renovating your local council will more than like tell you that you must have an energy saving hot water system. This is a good thing as it will bring your energy bills down, but make sure it will supply your family with the hot water you need. You don’t want your family to complain every night for the next ten years do you? So double check that it will supply your needs and then talk about saving energy.