2.2h Water Heaters

Feature	According to Energy Star: the average household spends $400 to $600 per year on water heating — making it the second largest energy expenditure behind heating and cooling. Most Americans have conventional water heaters that are barely more efficient than ones sold 20 years ago. Today's new Energy Star-qualified water heaters include smart design enhancements that offer significant improvements in efficiency and performance. Depending on the technology chosen, water-heating costs can be cut in half.
	Types of Water Heaters
High-Efficiency Gas Storage Water Heaters	An Energy Star-qualified gas storage model instead of a standard model will save about $30 a year.  Over the 13-year lifetime of the water heater that's about $360. Larger families can save more money. See brands of Energy Star-qualified gas storage water heaters.
Whole-home Gas Tankless Water Heaters	By heating water only when it's needed, Energy Star-qualified gas tankless water heaters cut water-heating expenses by 30%, while also providing continuous hot water delivery. By heating water only when it’s needed, Energy Star-qualified tankless water heaters save the typical family more than $100 per year on gas bills compared to a standard storage model. Larger families can save more. Tankless water heaters range in price from $200 for a small under-sink unit up to $1,200 for a gas-fired unit that delivers 5 gallons per minute. Typically, the more hot water the unit produces, the more it will cost. (Source: NAHB Research Center) See brands of Energy Star-qualified whole-home tankless water heaters.
Gas Condensing Water Heaters	According to Energy Star: The smart design enhancement that increases the efficiency of gas condensing water heaters can reduce your natural gas bills by more than $100 each year. If just 5% of the gas water heaters sold each year were Energy Star-qualified gas condensing models, the U.S. would avoid wasting $25 million — and 17.2 million therms of energy — each year. In terms of greenhouse gas emissions, that's equivalent to taking almost 17,000 cars off the road. Energy Star-qualified condensing water heaters will be listed late in 2009. See more
Heat Pump Water Heaters	According to the NAHB Research Center, heat pumps have traditionally been used for space conditioning, but are now also being used for electric water heating. They are usually three times more efficient than electric resistance water heaters—meaning that they can produce the same amount of hot water for one-third the amount of electricity. Heat pump water heaters cost from $600 to over $2,000 (not including tax credits). Installation cost may be between $300 and $700. Estimated payback is 2 to 5 years. Energy Star plans to release a list of qualified heat pump water heaters late in 2009.
Solar Water Heaters	An Energy Star-qualified solar water heating system can cut annual hot water costs in half, and is generally designed for use with an electric or gas back-up water heater. This means a household can save $190 annually when combining solar with a backup gas-storage water heater instead of using the gas water heater alone. With an electric tank water heater for back up, the savings on electric bills are $250 annually. Large families with greater hot water needs can save more. Also, the average life expectancy of qualified solar water heating systems is 20 years, much longer than standard gas or electric storage water heaters. As for the initial costs, according to the NAHB Research Center, an active, flat plate solar collector system will cost approximately $2,500 to $3,500 installed (not factoring in tax credits) and produce about 80 to 100 gallons of hot water per day. A passive system will cost about $1,000 to $2,000 installed but will have a lower capacity. Ratings for solar water heaters can be found at The Solar Rating and Certification Corporation.
Example	This tankless water heater is mounted on the side of home in Santa Barbara, California. When remodeling, people who decide to replace a storage tank water heater with a tankless water heater use the space vacated by the old tank for other purposes. (Photo: Kathy Price-Robinson)
Tax Credits	Federal tax credit incentives for water heaters