Heating Water for Domestic Hot Water or to Heat Your Home

Heating Water for Domestic Hot Water or to Heat Your Home

Water is heated for two purposes in residential applications. The first is to heat for domestic use. Such a cleaning, washing, cooking, showers and bathing. The second is to heat as a medium for carrying that heat to a room then releasing the heat into that room to keep us warm.

Hot Water Tanks

There are three main types or ways to heat water for domestic purposes. These are the following:

Tankless water heaters

Tankless heaters are becoming more common in North America, although these have been used in other parts of the world for years. This kind of heater does not have any water in a tank. If you do not have a tank then you will not have to continually keep that water heated as the water will always cool even when not in use. The cooling process is caused by heat from the water warming the air in the flue, then the hot air rises and is displaced by cooler air which is in turn heated by the hot water (convection heat just like baseboard heating). This air will flow up the flue and spill out into the room. Also the water in the tank will cool as heat conducts through the tank and into the room. This cooling process is called standby loss and because of this process your water heater is at best 55% efficient.

Tankless water heaters are more efficient than hot water tanks because of the heating process. A hot water heater will heat the bottom of the tank and the center of the tank, with most of the energy leaving the tank up the flue. Where as a tankless water heater heats a coil of pipes inside of a heat exchanger similar to that of a boiler. This heat exchanger is made up of small tubes that heat up very fast.

A tankless water heater will also modulate the burner. So if you need only a small demand the tankless heater will only give you a small flame. And if you need a larger demand a tankless water heater will give you a larger flame.

Hot Water Tanks

Hot water tanks are the most common form in North America to heat your domestic water. These tanks have been around for a very long time and have not changed much until recently. Most homes use a 40 to 50 US gallon tank. Between high energy costs and pollution many people are switching to better ways to heat there water.

A hot water tank requires a chimney for the flue gases to flow to the outside (except power vent and direct vent water heaters, these can be piped out the wall). Hot water tanks also have an anode rod to protect the tank, a dip tube to allow the cold water to flow to the bottom of the tank, a gas valve, burner and a relief valve. NEVER plug a relief valve. This is the largest cause of water heater explosions. Water when heated to boiling changes to steam. When this happens the water expands 1700 times and with no where to go the tank has to blow up. Usually the bottom is what bursts and the unit becomes a rocket shooting through the roof in a two story building.

Indirect water heaters--An indirect water heater uses a boiler to heat the water that flows through the inside of a coil of pipe which in turns heats the domestic water through conduction. These are very efficient, have a fast response time and out last a standard water heater more than three to one. The response time is very quick giving you more than enough hot water. In my opinion these are the best water heaters on the market. The biggest problem is that you need a boiler to heat the water therefore the cost can be high compared to a normal water heater. If you are renovating and going to install hot water heating of any sort, such as a fan coil instead of a high efficient furnace, then this is the way to go

Heating your home

Heating water to heat your home is best done with a boiler. The reason I say this is that a boiler is meant to heat water in an efficient manner, while your water heat is not. A standard water heater has an efficiency of 65% to 70% including standby losses. A standard boiler runs at about 80%. The boilers I install have an efficiency rating of between 85% and 98% depending on the system and time of year. So you could use a water heater to heat your home (check with local codes), but the lifespan is much less and your heating bill will be much greater. Not worth the $2500 to $3500 difference between the two. (my opinion). You could use a tankless water heater, but you will need two or three if you are heating your domestic water as well. Still compared with a condensing boiler you are only saving less than $1000



By Kelly P Kramer
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/796659

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How To Supercharge Your Water Heater ?

HOT WATER

Have you ever had to stand shivering in the cold morning air waiting for hot water with your arm outstretched, fingers extended into the cold stream of water. It seems to take forever for the water to get hot. Speed up it up with a circulating system.

Traditionally, if you had a circulating system, it meant that you had a hot water pipe that ran in a big loop from the outlet of the heater to each fixture one after the other, and then back to the inlet of the water heater through a small pump. By continuously pumping water through the loop you have instant hot water at every fixture.

This is very convenient. Hotels and motels have circulating systems; otherwise it could take hours to get hot water with such long pipes as they have.

However, instant hot water is also very expensive. Not only do you have to pay for the energy to run the pump continuously for long periods of time or even full time, but you also have to pay for the heat energy being radiated into the environment from that big loop of piping. The cost of heating the water is considerably more than the cost to run the pump.

There are a number of manufacturers producing circulating systems that utilize the cold water line as the return line.

Some of these pumping systems use small pumps that pump water very slowly, and are temperature controlled. The pump turns on when the water temperature drops below a set point, and then shuts off when the water temperature in the pipe reaches another set point. This keeps the water your entire piping system luke-warm . The water is warmer near the heater and colder the further you get from the heater, but it is tepid through out the piping system.

Most folks don't really want the cold pipe full of warm or tepid water. You don't get "Instant Hot Water" as the manufacturers claim. I think they should be honest and call them "Instant Tepid Water Systems". The Lang Auto-Circ and The Grundfos Comfort System are two such systems, and the Hot Water Lobster is another. The Hot Water Lobster doesn't have a pump, but relies on the fact that heated water rises, and the Lobster valve has to be substantially higher than the heater for the system to work.

Unfortunately these systems consume much more energy since you are heating that big loop of piping and return line and its surroundings. The cost of the energy will far outweigh any monetary savings from the water conservation aspect.

Another class of systems that use the cold water line as the return line is the "Hot Water Demand Systems". These systems only pump the water to the fixture when hot water is "demanded" by the user. The pumping costs are small; typically demand systems use less than $2.00 per year in electricity costs. This is because they run for such a brief time, typically less than 1 minute per use.

When the user turns on the pump it runs until hot water reaches the fixture and then the pump automatically shuts off. The cold water line does not end up full of warm water.

With the demand system the energy consumed is no more than if the user just ran the tap as normal. And since the water is not being circulated it does not affect the life of your tankless heater or the warranty.

The water is pumped more quickly than if you ran the faucet full throttle. You save time, water, energy, and money!

There are at least three manufacturers of demand systems, Metlund, RedyTemp, and Chilipepper. The Chilipepper will run any tankless water heater. Some models of the Metlund system will run tankless water heaters, and some won't, so be sure to inquire before you make a purchase.



By William Lund
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1117206

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All You need to Know About Getting Solar Hot Water

Solar Hot Water

The best things in life are free, and now your hot water can be too. With a solar heater system, you can get solar hot water right in your home. Solar systems are both cost-effective and energy efficient since they use the sun as a fuel source. This means more money in your pocket and less damage to the environment.

It is a win-win situation for everyone.

How Do I Get Solar Hot Water?

Having a solar panel hot water heating system installed in your home is a wise investment but it is not your average do-it-yourself weekend project. Installation should only be done by a professional contractor.

Find a contractor in your area and call for an estimate. You'll find quality contractors in cities such as Baltimore, Catonsville, Towson, Owings, Mills, and Randallstown.

There are several types of solar water heaters that you can have installed in your home. The solar water heaters vary according to the system of solar collection and water insulation. Direct circulation systems are best in warmer climates where the temperature rarely drops below freezing. Indirect circulation systems are great in climates that often reach freezing or sub-freezing temperatures.

What if there is no sunlight for several days?

A backup system in necessary and there are several options available.Here are a few factors to consider when deciding if you should purchase a solar water system for your home:

The amount of sunlight in the area of where you live
The size solar water system that you will require to meet your needs
Costs of various solar systems offered by various companies
Regulations and codes in your city

So, Who Should Install My Solar Hot Water System?

A solar water system will save you money within a relatively short time. However, proper installation and maintenance are an absolute necessity. Find the right contractor in your area to ensure that your solar hot water system is installed properly. There are only a few contractors who can install a solar hot water system.

Make sure you choose one that has the proper experience to install a solar hot water system for your home! If the contractor performing the job is not properly experience in the field of solar systems then the job may not be done properly, or it may be overpriced.



By Arsham Mirshah 
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3918947

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Instant Hot Water. What !!!

Water heaters have been giving people problems for years. It just never seems to end. No matter what you do you seem to have the same problems over and over again. Introducing the solution to your problems: an instantaneous water heater. I will explain just what an instantaneous water heater is, it does that is so amazing, and how it will benefit you for ages to come. You do not have to live with the your current troubles any longer. A way has been made out from under the oppression of the common water heater. It is just up to us to find out about this solution and use it.

Let start off our exploration with our first topic of what exactly is so great about this. An instantaneous water heater is a water heater without a tank. It is located right on the piping to demand direct water heating reaction to your turning on the faucet. You can easily be satisfied with this amazing invention because of the great way it operates instantly and consistently. With one of these there is no tank so therefore there is no standby heating losses or the price that comes with constant heating.

Now that we have established what a instantaneous water heater is, now we should now move on to our next topic which discusses what one does exactly. One of these amazing little pieces of technology heats water for taking a bath or washing hands or even dishes. The difference is that it does its job much more efficiently than the standard water heaters that most people have today. Well what have we covered so far? We have discussed what an incredible invention these are and what how it far surpasses your current slow and inefficient system. Now we should move on to what benefits an instantaneous water heater can bring to you and you family.

We have already touched on this subject some but let us continue to add to the list. We receive benefits from instantaneous water heaters in many ways. We receive the instant warmth we seek without having to wait for the water to warm up. we also save a lot of money when using one of these due to the unnecessary waste of water storage. We also contribute to the em-betterment of our environment when we use this because it doesn't need 75 gallons of water to wait to be heated at all times. The list continues on but I think you have gotten the message. A new an improved era of water heating technology is about to begin. With instantaneous water heaters we can be a part of that world.



By Gottlieb Wendehals
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1366245

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