The term indirect water heater may not sound that sexy, but these heating systems can drastically reduce your energy bills–and put more money in your pocket.
If you’re looking to buy a new water heater or just want to learn more about this popular home purchase, here’s everything you need to know buying an indirect water heater.
What is an Indirect Water Heater?
An indirect water heater is an energy efficient water heating system that is fueled by a home’s space heating system.
Conventional water heaters use a storage tank and gas or electricity to heat water. Outlets on the top allow hot water to escape when hot water faucets are in use and an input pipe on the bottom adds cold water to the tank.
The storage container is always on, heating and reheating the water. With this method, you can waste a lot of energy even when you are not using hot water. This process is called standby heat-loss.
Indirect water heaters significantly decrease the amount of stand by heat loss, and are therefore more energy efficient.
Pros and Cons of Indirect Water Heaters
An indirect water heater heats water by passing it through a heat exchanger in a boiler. The hot water is then pumped into a water storage container.
Because the boiler does not need to be operated frequently, this method is efficient; an indirect water heating system works best with an efficient boiler.
In fact, the combination can provide one of the cheapest forms of water heating available. Indirect heaters may cost more initially, but their life cycle is the lowest of most other heaters.
How to Buy
An indirect water heating system can be connected to a heat boiler, solar heating system, electricity, or gas.
Photo: amanderson2
The initial cost really depends on the amount of work it will take to install it to your space heating system. Minus the cost of installation, a regular indirect water heater can cost anywhere from 900 to 1500 dollars.
You should choose the heater based on your capacity needs. The smaller the capacity, the cheaper your initial costs will be. Remember, an initial investment in a heater that will pay off over the long term is a smart investment.
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