Will You be in Hot Water in 2015?

You may be in 2015 since the Department of Energy’s new water heater efficiency rules go into effect on April 16^th, 2015. Most customers in this area have a gas fired hot water heater. A few have an electric hot water heater where natural gas is not available in their home. Both types will be affected. Check out our 99+ energy saving tips here.

A Side Note for Customer’s who had basements flooded

All manufactures strongly recommend you replace any water heater, furnace or boiler that has sustained flood water to any of the controls or moving parts. If the water level do not reach controls but did enter some part of the unit, there may be issues with mold. An immediate inspection by a qualified technician should be done.

New Gas Hot Water Heater Standards for 2015

Let’s first take a look at the new standards for gas hot water heaters since it will have the biggest effect on a home in the Metro Detroit area. These rules also apply to propane fired hot water heaters for those who do not have a natural gas option. The old rule stated that a gas-fired hot water heater between 20 gallons and 100 gallons of storage capacity must have an energy factor of .67. All residential heaters and residential units used in commercial applications have been meeting this standard for a number of years. The new rules breakdown those heaters into two classifications. The first classification is 20 to 55 gallon storage capacity and the other is over 55 to 100 gallon storage capacity. The 20 to 55 category efficiency has increased slightly from .67 to .675. This will have little if any effect on the average home with a 40 or 50 gallon hot water heater. On large homes, homeowners who have a whirlpool tub with a large capacity, or small commercial applications there is a major change in the energy factor. It moves from .67 to .8012. This will require a much more expensive tank with the need for an electrical circuit and a condensate drain. Standard residential tanks of 65 gallons to 100 gallons will no longer be available. Residential heaters used for commercial applications will be far more expensive and there may be issues with venting since a conventional flue pipe system will not work with the new tanks.

New Tankless Gas Water Heater Standards for 2015

You may be thinking I’ll just install one of those tankless water heaters and then I won’t have a problem. Well, there are changes with tankless water heaters also. The rules require all new tankless water heaters to have an energy factor of .82 which was raised from .62. These will also be more expensive for the unit and for installation. Dozens of energy saving tips here.

New Electric Hot Water Heater Standards for 2015

Now let’s check out the electric water heater changes. Once again the old standard for residential tank type water heaters was an energy factor of .97 for any residential electric tank with a storage capacity from 20 gallons to 120 gallons. The new standard breaks down the storage sizes to 20 to 55 gallons and over 55 to 120 gallons. The energy factor for the 20 to 55 gallon tanks actually drops from .97 to .96 energy factor. Really nothing will change for these sizes. But for tanks greater than 55 gallons of storage capacity the energy factor increased to 2.057. This will require a heat pump type of water heater or perhaps a solar powered water heater to meet these requirements. These are far more expensive than a standard tank type of electric water heater. The heat pump heaters may also create a noise issue since they have a compressor and fans in them.

Suggestions for Consumers

If your hot water heater is more than 8 years old, you should look into replacing it before the new standard takes effect April 16^th, 2015. Don’t wait too long because the supply of today’s standard tanks may be scarce as we approach the deadline for the changeover. You can also expect the price of those tanks without significant changes to go up to help manufacturers spread the cost of design, engineering, testing, and production of the higher efficient tanks. Get an ebook with 99+ energy saving tips here.

Contact us today if you have questions.

It’s a good time of year to have our trained experienced air conditioning Technicians solve your cooling problems whether you live on Grosse Ilse, in Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Melvindale, Wyandotte, or Lincoln Park.

Contact us for more information or visit our website at www.HomeServiceCorp.com.

Home Service Corporation serving our Michigan customers Heating & Air Conditioning , Plumbing and Electrical needs since 1980.

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Do You Need an Ark?

Noah was warned by God of the great flood that was to cover the earth. He had enough time to build the Ark, outfit it, gather the animals, and double check it’s seaworthiness. Wouldn’t it be nice if you had that same early warning of an impending “Great Flood” in your basement. You ask “What are you talking about? My basement is bone dry. I’ve never had a flood.” We’ll, over the years we have heard these words spoken to us along with “I can’t believe my carpeting, furniture, and prized collections are damaged by a flood from our sump pump failing.”

 

There are now many options for helping prevent basement floods. These include a second pump, a battery operated backup sump pump, a water power backup sump pump, audible flood alarms, and of course regular maintenance. Each of these are good options when properly applied, properly installed and properly maintained. We have installed dozens of these devices over the years and have helped many of our customers avoid the “Great Flood.”

 

Some alarm companies are providing an alarm which senses water overflowing the sump and spilling onto the floor. These are also an option but what do you do if you are at work, on vacation, or away from home for other reasons? What if the alarm doesn’t operate when you need it because no one maintained it? Before you can react to the alarm you could have a serious flooding situation.

 

There is a new option for homeowners today. In consists of a water powered backup sump pump with an audible alarm and the ability to contact you and three others by phone if the backup sump pump is running. It senses a higher water level than normal in the sump, starts the backup pump, contacts you via the phone all before water reaches the floor of you basement. It gives you time to check out the problem or to contact us to check it out for you. Although it would not contact you in the event of a total phone outage in your home, it would continue to operate the backup pump powered by your water supply. Technology is providing us with new options which were not even dreamed about just a decade ago.

 

You may ask “What other new plumbing things are out there?” These include touch control and touch-less faucets, emergency water supply shutoff systems, smart energy saving hot water heaters, toilets that flush on less that 20% of the water many older models use, quiet garbage disposals, filters to eliminate harmful chemicals and metals in the water supply, and even the kitchen sink with hundreds of styles, shapes and accessories.

 

If you have a sump pump and would like a free evaluation of the options for your unique home, just contact us.

Contact us for more information or visit our website at www.HomeServiceCorp.com.

Home Service Corporation

Celebrating our 32^nd year serving our Michigan customers Heating & Air Conditioning , Plumbing and Electrical needs.