Blocked Up: Straightforward Advice About Plumbing Issues

There are many ways you can make your home more eco-friendly and reduce its impact on the environment, from sorting your recycling to installing insulation in loft spaces. However, few homeowners think about their hot water systems, which tend to be one of the biggest polluters and energy consumers in any home.

As such, if you are looking for a new hot water unit for your home, you will probably want to ensure that your new system is as energy-efficient and environmentally friendly as possible. While choosing between gas, electrical or solar is obviously important, you should also consider how efficiently it uses the water it heats. For this reason, many green-minded homeowners are replacing their aging, inefficient storage tank systems with continuous flow systems.

What are continuous flow hot water systems?

In years gone by, all residential hot water systems were storage tank systems, which heat a large quantity of hot water before storing it in an insulated tank. This system allows users to access hot water whenever they want, but keeping large quantities of hot water at a constant temperature for long periods requires a lot of energy. 

Continuous flow hot water systems have replaced traditional storage tank systems in many eco-friendly homes. These hot water systems are activated whenever you turn on a hot water tap or turn on an appliance that requires hot water and quickly heat only as much hot water as you need using extremely fast and efficient heating elements. When the water flow is switched off, the hot water system ceases functioning instantly.

How can a continuous flow hot water system make your home more eco-friendly?

As you can imagine, heating water as needed is much more energy-efficient than keeping a large store of heated water in reserve. Consequently, continuous flow hot water systems are significantly more energy-efficient than conventional storage tank hot water systems. Using one in your home will cut down the amount of energy it uses significantly, helping to lower your home's carbon footprint and environmental impact, not to mention your annual energy bills.

What type of continuous flow hot water system should you choose?

If you do choose to install a continuous flow hot water system in your home, you will have to decide between a gas-fired or electric model. Most continuous flow hot water systems use gas to heat water and are very energy-efficient. Electrical systems are available if you do not have gas access in your area or simply prefer not to use gas; these models can be more expensive to run than gas-fired systems, but can also be more eco-friendly if your home draws some or all of its power from renewable sources (such as solar panels or wind turbines).