When most of us were growing up the only hot water option was that big storage-tank water heater that sat in the corner of a dusty basement or closet. Recent advances in water heating technologies, combined with alternate fuel options, have now thrown the door open to a large number of new products and delivery systems.
The conventional water tank that is still most common in residential applications.
Storage type water heaters are still quite common but, while the least expensive at first cost, are subject to standby heat loss and may be the most expensive to operate. An Energy Star rated 100 gallon unit can still be a good bet for a large family with a modest building budget.
These on-demand units, powered by gas or electricity, can serve a single room or an entire home.
Tankless water heaters, run on either propane or electricity, are quickly becoming the standard in most Cayman homes. Care needs to be taken in the design stages however to ensure that hot water fixtures are relatively close together for a single source unit, or that multiple point solutions are employed in a large spread out home.
These units, while most expensive at first cost, are the least expensive to operate with payback in the region of five years.
An excellent alternative is also the heat pump water heater – the most efficient electric option. It works like a refrigerator in reverse (even putting off cold air into the space it resides in – garage cooling anybody?) transferring energy from the surrounding air into the storage tank.
