solar power water heater

solar power water heater

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Having a traditional electric tank heater to pre-heat and keep water for uses at any time is not an efficient way of hot water supply. In addition, electric heating elements are one of the poor energy efficient items in any electrical system. An electric water heating system uses more electricity to produce the desired output to provide the hot water supply compares to the power usage of other electrical appliances. Are there alternatives to replace the traditional electric water heating system?

Let's discuss the common alternatives to a traditional electric water heater that provide better energy efficiency.

1. Propane-fired tank heaters

Propane-fired tank heaters eliminate the electric draw of the heating elements that caused the low energy efficiency in traditional electric water heating system. The great advances in design and technology today has made propane type heater to become the primary water heating choice for consumers. It can provide hot water in the ranging of 40 to 100 gallons depending on the tank size of the water heating system. However, there is one disadvantage of tank-type propane-fired heater, it will run out of hot water during a long uses. Therefore, enough propane must be consumed to keep the large volume of water inside the tank to remain hot at all times.

2. Propane-fired tank-less heaters

Propane-fired tank-less heater is an upgraded version of the tank-type water heater that resolves the shortage of the tank-type design. The heaters consist of a coiled copper pipe with a propane burner installed at the bottom of the unit. The tank-less propane-fired heater is designed in space saving model, making them very space efficient. Since there is no tank for hot water storage, no pre-heat process is required, the water is heated up on demand; moreover, it only requires to heat up small volume of water at a time, the water can be heated very quickly; therefore, it cuts down on fuel consumption, making it more energy efficient than the tank-type version.

3. Wood-fired water heaters

For those who leave at remote locations, the heated hot tub using electricity would be out of question. The best alternative to electric water heater in the area where wood can be easily obtained is using wood to fire and heat-up the water. Wood-fired water heating systems are getting popular as more and more people are getting back to nature. If you have an energy sources from the nature, creating a wood-fired water heater is not difficult. Many people who choose this solution create one by themselves.

Summary

Traditional electric water heating system is an inefficient way of hot water supply. There are better alternatives to replace it. The above 3 types of water heaters provides a more energy efficient water heating process and they are a good option to replace a traditional electric water heater.

Dave Stillman reviews various Home Energy Guides at http://www.wind-solar-power.info. Read his reviews before you buy any of these guides. Find the best step-by-step Home Energy Guides from Dave's resources.

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