Winter Is Hard On Your Water Heater, Too
Written on: December 9, 2019
Your heating system may have the toughest job in the house during the winter as it works around the clock to keep your family safe and warm. But don’t underestimate the challenges your propane water heater faces in colder months, either.
Your water heater works considerably harder in the winter here in Pennsylvania than it does at any other time of the year. Why?
3 reasons winter is tough on water heaters:
- It has to overcome your cold basement – If you own a conventional water heater (one with a storage tank), it more than likely sits in a cold basement, where it holds hot water until it is needed for use. The problem is that water is constantly losing heat (we call this standing heat loss). To make sure the water is hot when you turn on your tap or appliance, the water heater needs to reheat the water from time to time – which burns more fuel and causes your equipment to work harder to do the same job.
- It has to heat colder water – The water entering your home from your well or municipal supply Is colder during the winter (that is, it has a lower inlet temperature) – which means it takes more energy to heat the water than it does at other times of the year.
- You use more hot water – Most people take longer, hotter showers to warm up during the winter – which means more work for your water heater.
Of course, you can eliminate or substantially reduce the impact of these issues by switching to a tankless propane water heater, which instantly heats the water you need rather than storing it in a tank for later use. If you can’t swing a water heater upgrade, be sure to get regular professional maintenance to keep your equipment running as efficiently as possible.
Keep the hot water coming and your energy bills as low as possible with high-efficiency water heater maintenance and expert water heater installations from the pros at Ace-Robbins. Contact us today to learn more!
