Hot water heating accounts for about 20% (or more) of the average North American household’s annual energy costs. With energy prices rising day by day it is becoming important to take a closer look at where the money is going.
The average yearly cost for a conventional gas or electric storage hot water heater is approximately $500 for a 1300sq.ft. 4 member family home. It lowers or increases depending on how many people live in the house and on their particular water usage habits.
Conventional hot water heaters store water and maintain the water temperature to the temperature setting on the tank - usually between 120° and 140° F. That means keeping water hot even when you do not need it - while you are at work; while you are sleeping; while you are away on holidays.
These “standby” losses represent 15% to 25% of a household’s annual water heating costs.
Another thing that annoys all of us, is waiting for the water to heat up because someone took a bath before us. The storage tank water heaters only have a limited amount of hot water. After that is gone you have to wait for the tank to get heated again.
Throughout the rest of the world, where energy costs have consistently been higher than in North America, different methods of heating water are common.
Enter Tankless Hot Water Heaters. They began appearing in the United States and Canada about 25 years ago but have been used in Europe for the last 50 years.
Unlike "conventional" tank water heaters, tankless water heaters heat water only as it is used, or “on demand”. Opening a hot water faucet ignites the powerful burners and the computer monitors the water temperature and adjusts the burners according to the need. High demand, high heat. Low demand, low heat.
Because the efficiency rate of tankless water heaters is about 20% higher, averaging around 90% and going up to 96% and there is no stand by losses, savings on your energy bills are evident.
Some models even have the capacity to heat the house at the same time. With these tankless water heaters, which are connected either to radiant floor heat or to a heating coil in your furnace (air handler), you can bring high efficiency space heating capacities to every home.
Just imagine a contraption the size of your kitchen cabinet, heating your home and giving you an endless supply of potable hot water. You do not need a separate furnace and a separate hot water heater.
Some models can be mounted on the exterior of a home, freeing up valuable floor and closet space on the inside. The unit can be placed in a recessed box, flush-mounted and painted or textured to match the exterior of the home.
Tankless water heaters can also be used for supplementary heat, such as a booster to a solar hot water system, or snow melting systems, or to meet all your hot water needs.
The major players include: Takagi, Rheem, Noritz, Rinnai and up and coming Luna Baxi.
We would suggest researching different makes and models in order to make the right choice for your particular needs and circumstances.
Monday, February 27, 2006
Monday, February 20, 2006
Ways To Heat Your Water...
Where you live, as well as the life style you lead, the number of people in your household, and where you’ll put the water heating system, you’ll need to factor these realities in if you’re going to purchase a new hot water system, or getting a back up system... more at: http://luxury-home.ca/Articles/Ways-To-Heat-Your-Water.htm
P.S. New Sites:
http://repairing-building-contractor.com
http://home-design.ca
http://insulated-concrete.com
P.S. New Sites:
http://repairing-building-contractor.com
http://home-design.ca
http://insulated-concrete.com
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Is This Your Dream Home?
Are you aware that a new type of home exists that is guaranteed to change the way you live?
A home that is:
2X more energy efficient than a conventional wood-framed home.
3X more sound resistant than a wood-framed wall.
4X more fire resistant than a wood-framed wall.
9X stronger than a conventional wood-framed home.
It is a fact that today’s well-informed homeowners are looking for newer, more efficient ways to build homes. They want strength, comfort and lower energy bills, while also allowing for flexibility of design and lower future maintenance costs. Energy efficiency remains the quickest, cheapest and cleanest way to help lower home energy bills.
Building technology has advanced greatly. Quality builders are using ICF’s (Insulated Concrete Forms) to create homes that are safer, stronger and healthier than ever before. This type of building is based on simple, interlocking, stacking “blocks” made from flame-retardant expanded polystyrene (EPS) panels connected by molded-in high density polyethylene structural foam bridging. Filled with concrete, these blocks create a monolithic wall with a minimum insulation value of R25; which then because of the heat retaining properties of concrete increase their performance to R50. They also have a fire rating which is just under four hours. In addition to all this, there is an added bonus of efficiency because building the walls of a home with ICF’s can take one half of the time (or less) of conventional construction.
The really good news is that now everyone can afford to live in one of these homes; everyone who is concerned about future energy costs and their environment”.
The initial investment is only about 10% more than the old way of building (wood-frame); but considerably less when you think of the long term costs of energy and maintenance.
Adding other energy efficient features, such as High Efficiency Tank-Less Water Heaters that can heat your whole house while giving you an endless stream of hot water; High Efficiency Low-E Argon Windows, Heat Recovery Ventilators connected to an “Earth Energy” system that pre-conditions incoming air, and Radiant Floor Heating which gives you the ultimate in comfort with body temperature heated floors, can slash 50% off of a homeowner’s monthly heating and cooling bills.
Gone are the days of buying a home for appearance sake only. A little bit of effort and common sense can go a long way in making your home more energy-efficient. New homebuyers are consciously choosing to make informed decisions concerning their future and that of their family’s future. They are turning to homes which are more energy-efficient, and environmentally-friendly in addition to paying them dividends for years to come.
A home that is:
2X more energy efficient than a conventional wood-framed home.
3X more sound resistant than a wood-framed wall.
4X more fire resistant than a wood-framed wall.
9X stronger than a conventional wood-framed home.
It is a fact that today’s well-informed homeowners are looking for newer, more efficient ways to build homes. They want strength, comfort and lower energy bills, while also allowing for flexibility of design and lower future maintenance costs. Energy efficiency remains the quickest, cheapest and cleanest way to help lower home energy bills.
Building technology has advanced greatly. Quality builders are using ICF’s (Insulated Concrete Forms) to create homes that are safer, stronger and healthier than ever before. This type of building is based on simple, interlocking, stacking “blocks” made from flame-retardant expanded polystyrene (EPS) panels connected by molded-in high density polyethylene structural foam bridging. Filled with concrete, these blocks create a monolithic wall with a minimum insulation value of R25; which then because of the heat retaining properties of concrete increase their performance to R50. They also have a fire rating which is just under four hours. In addition to all this, there is an added bonus of efficiency because building the walls of a home with ICF’s can take one half of the time (or less) of conventional construction.
The really good news is that now everyone can afford to live in one of these homes; everyone who is concerned about future energy costs and their environment”.
The initial investment is only about 10% more than the old way of building (wood-frame); but considerably less when you think of the long term costs of energy and maintenance.
Adding other energy efficient features, such as High Efficiency Tank-Less Water Heaters that can heat your whole house while giving you an endless stream of hot water; High Efficiency Low-E Argon Windows, Heat Recovery Ventilators connected to an “Earth Energy” system that pre-conditions incoming air, and Radiant Floor Heating which gives you the ultimate in comfort with body temperature heated floors, can slash 50% off of a homeowner’s monthly heating and cooling bills.
Gone are the days of buying a home for appearance sake only. A little bit of effort and common sense can go a long way in making your home more energy-efficient. New homebuyers are consciously choosing to make informed decisions concerning their future and that of their family’s future. They are turning to homes which are more energy-efficient, and environmentally-friendly in addition to paying them dividends for years to come.
Monday, February 06, 2006
How to Choose the Best Floor Plan for Your House?
Floor plan should be designed to meet your needs as well as those of your family. First of all it should have an adequate square footage – not too much, so that you don’t have too much unused space and increased costs of maintenance, and not too small, so that you have privacy, and room for all family activities as well as entertainment.
Here are things to look for while designing your floor plan:
• Garage should be close to the kitchen, preferably next to it, so that you have an easy access to the refrigerator or pantry while carrying your groceries to the house. It makes your job much easier for garbage removal as well.
• Two-story house usually costs less to build than one-story.
• When you decide to build a bedroom above garage, be ready to live with the noise caused by the opening and closing of garage doors.
• You need enough room for storage. Most builders don’t pay significant amount of attention to this point, yet most homeowners complain about not having enough storage. You should make sure there is plenty of closets in the bedrooms, large enough pantry closet and closets for towels as well for the coats, by the main entrance door.
• Plan your traffic patterns ahead of time. Observe where you spend most of your time and plan accordingly. Try to avoid putting any obstacles or doors in the way of major traffic paths.
• Consider proper room layout for noise. You do not want to have a library or bedroom next to a playroom or close to the area where TV or stereo unit is.
• Place dining room next to the kitchen so that you can avoid unnecessary steps while serving meals to your guests or your family members.
• Include at least half a bath on the first floor when planning a two-story house.
• I often see bathrooms next to the kitchen in older homes. This is definitely a bad combination and something you should avoid at all costs.
• Walk-in pantry is a good selling point at present time but make sure it makes sense in your situation. Regular closets are often more economical and provide more storage.
• Plan carefully on where to put washer and dryer. It is a good idea to have them on the second floor, next to the master bedroom, in order to avoid going up and down the stairs with your laundry. Take the noise into consideration, though. Calculate extra plumbing costs as well. If it all makes sense, go ahead and do it.
• Certain areas of the house, like bedrooms and library should be isolated from sound as much as possible. You can accomplish this by arranging your floor plan properly as well as adding an extra insulation in the walls or floors and by installing solid-core doors with higher sound-proofing qualities.
• High ceilings are very fashionable at present but you have to decide for yourself if they fit both: your budget and tastes. High ceilings take away living space. The same space might be used for an extra bedroom. You have to decide if you are after esthetics or practicality.
• Do you want a basement or can you live without it? Adding a full basement is costly but you should be able to recoup the cost at the time of sale, especially if your house is in the area of homes with basements.
About The Author
Mark Badowski has been in real estate business for the last 21 years. He is a builder/developer in the Chicagoland area. He had worked in banking, real estate investments and sales. To learn more about the subject covered in this article you can visit his website at: http://www.real-estate-developer-homebuilder.com/house-plan.ht
Here are things to look for while designing your floor plan:
• Garage should be close to the kitchen, preferably next to it, so that you have an easy access to the refrigerator or pantry while carrying your groceries to the house. It makes your job much easier for garbage removal as well.
• Two-story house usually costs less to build than one-story.
• When you decide to build a bedroom above garage, be ready to live with the noise caused by the opening and closing of garage doors.
• You need enough room for storage. Most builders don’t pay significant amount of attention to this point, yet most homeowners complain about not having enough storage. You should make sure there is plenty of closets in the bedrooms, large enough pantry closet and closets for towels as well for the coats, by the main entrance door.
• Plan your traffic patterns ahead of time. Observe where you spend most of your time and plan accordingly. Try to avoid putting any obstacles or doors in the way of major traffic paths.
• Consider proper room layout for noise. You do not want to have a library or bedroom next to a playroom or close to the area where TV or stereo unit is.
• Place dining room next to the kitchen so that you can avoid unnecessary steps while serving meals to your guests or your family members.
• Include at least half a bath on the first floor when planning a two-story house.
• I often see bathrooms next to the kitchen in older homes. This is definitely a bad combination and something you should avoid at all costs.
• Walk-in pantry is a good selling point at present time but make sure it makes sense in your situation. Regular closets are often more economical and provide more storage.
• Plan carefully on where to put washer and dryer. It is a good idea to have them on the second floor, next to the master bedroom, in order to avoid going up and down the stairs with your laundry. Take the noise into consideration, though. Calculate extra plumbing costs as well. If it all makes sense, go ahead and do it.
• Certain areas of the house, like bedrooms and library should be isolated from sound as much as possible. You can accomplish this by arranging your floor plan properly as well as adding an extra insulation in the walls or floors and by installing solid-core doors with higher sound-proofing qualities.
• High ceilings are very fashionable at present but you have to decide for yourself if they fit both: your budget and tastes. High ceilings take away living space. The same space might be used for an extra bedroom. You have to decide if you are after esthetics or practicality.
• Do you want a basement or can you live without it? Adding a full basement is costly but you should be able to recoup the cost at the time of sale, especially if your house is in the area of homes with basements.
About The Author
Mark Badowski has been in real estate business for the last 21 years. He is a builder/developer in the Chicagoland area. He had worked in banking, real estate investments and sales. To learn more about the subject covered in this article you can visit his website at: http://www.real-estate-developer-homebuilder.com/house-plan.ht
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