Are You In Hot Water?
THIS hot water would be pretty fabulous, assuming you could
make the dash from the house to the hot tub and back without freezing…
But what I am really getting at is a Federal law (the National Appliance and Energy Conservation Act - NAECA) that
mandates higher energy efficiency for all home water heaters manufactured after
April 16, 2015, that you may not find out about until it costs you money.
Since providing hot water in homes represents a big part of
a home’s average energy consumption, it certainly sounds like a great idea to
save money and energy, plus it is part of the government’s efforts to make the
US more self-sufficient energy-wise. The
phased improvement mandates actually started in 1990.
So what’s the big deal?
While the added insulation adds some cost to the units, the REAL problem
comes because the new 2015 water heaters are LARGER than the previous models of
the same capacity. With diameters and heights of many water heaters increasing
up to 15%, installation issues may occur when replacing an older model. If your
water heater is in a confined space or in a closet, the new model of the same
gallon capacity may not fit within that same space.
The cheapest option may be to live with a smaller-capacity
unit, but if you can’t reasonably do that (because you have teenagers in the
house, for example) and have to create a larger space or move the unit to
somewhere else in the house, you’re looking at big bucks.
So, now that you know, hopefully the sticker shock won’t be
too serious when the time comes to replace your equipment – and you KNOW it
will come someday.
JIM AT THE TOP
Jim Pedicord
RE/MAX Top Realtyjimpedicord@remax.net
281-610-7847 Cell
713-558-2537 Direct
713-773-3700 x 2537 Office 713-773-3311 Fax
2911 S. Sam Houston Pkwy. E.
Houston, TX 77047
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