How to Choose a New Hot Water Heater

Water heaters are essential piece of your home equipment. If yours goes out and you need to replace it there are some things that you will need to know to be an informed consumer and make a good decision. If at all possible research at home on the Internet about a water heater then go to the store. Once you’re at the store the salesperson may talk you into a water heater that you don’t need, or is out of your budget.

The first thing that you need to know about your water heater is if it is propane, electric or natural gas. Water heaters come in all these types. You can usually find the type by looking at the front of the water heater that is in your home already. Also on the front of the tank, it should tell you how many gallons your tank is. The gallons will tell you how many gallons the tank holds. You will want to get one the same size or bigger. You do want to take a note of the size of the space the hot water tank is in. You don’t want to purchase one that is bigger then the space.

There are some things to consider when purchasing a water heater. One is the gallons it holds. Then you want to know the gallons of water the heater can heat in an hour. If your family uses a lot of hot water, you will want one that will heat water faster.

The energy efficiency and yearly operating costs is another thing to consider. This is found on the new hot water heater this gives you a total of what the hot water tank will cost you for the year.

Once you have it figured out how big of a tank you need, and estimate your usage, which for a family of 4 is about a 40-50 gallon tank which should be sufficient for your needs. After you know the gallons of tank you need, then you can go to the store and shop around for an energy efficient tank, and know which size of tank you are in the market for. If your tank is stored in an unheated area such as a garage you may want to consider getting an insulating blanket that is made to go around your hot water tank, this will reduce your operating costs.

Home improvement stores have several different selections most of the time for you to choose from. They also have instructions at many locations on how to install one. Ask at the store.