The energy used to heat water for the home is often a major cost for many people. Some estimates suggest it can account for 25% of all utility costs over a month. This can vary depending on the time of year but making this system more efficient is a major way to save money. This article will touch on a couple of methods that may help you save money by making your home hot water system more efficient.

The principal sources of energy that heat water in the home are electricity or gas. For most homes, the water tank or boiler is the center of the water heating process. It is a large cylindrical metal tank. Inside the tank is a glass bottle that has insulation around it. The bottle stores the water and the metal casing protects the bottle from any damage.

At the bottom of the glass bottle will be a gas burner or an electric element. This is how the water is heated. These devices are generally controlled by a thermostat that will switch them on when the water drops to a certain temperature.

This system has a problem in that it will continually reheat water when it drops below a certain temperature.

For instance, if the water is not used, some of the heat will be lost to the environment depending on the level or quality of insulation. This means more electricity or gas is used to re-heat the water.

This is the cost of having hot water at the turn of a faucet. Many people think this cost is unnecessary and an inefficient use of energy resources.

An alternative that gets around this issue is the tankless water heater. This works as the name suggests. It is pretty much an on demand hot water system.

The key component of this system is a heat exchanger. The heat exchanger is still powered by traditional energy sources, like electricity or gas, but it is only activated when hot water is needed.

The pipes that move the water to the faucet are wound round the exchanger or passed through it. As the water passes through these pipes it is heated, giving on demand hot water.

You will use less electricity or gas using this type of system because it is only used when needed rather than topping up hot water that may not be used. A tankless system can cost more than the other system but should last longer as it gets less use.

A better alternative is to install a solar hot water heater. A solar hot water system is really the same as the other system when it comes to storing the water. It merely applies to the energy source that provides the heating.

There are two types of solar hot water systems. A passive system probably won't provide all your energy needs but can augment the use of electricity or gas thus saving you money on utility bills.

The active system is a way to generate electricity via solar panels positioned on the roof or some other spot that gets plenty of sunlight. The electricity is then used to power the traditional water tank or the heat exchanger in the tankless system. This can save on energy bills as the electricity that is created is free after initial costs are taken away.