The house we’re buying is equipped with centralized water heating. The plumbing and electrical system are there and we just need to buy a tank-type water heater. What a welcome relief after years of boiling water in kettles and pouring them into buckets when we took baths on cold days. But inasmuch as we’d love to have hot water in the bathroom, we also know that tank-type water heaters guzzle up electricity like anything. We decided that we’re going to install tankless water heaters instead.
There are basically two types of water heater. Tank-type and tankless. Tank-type means the water is heated in a tank, normally located outside the house, and the hot water travels through the pipes from the tank to the faucet or shower. This is the kind used in hotels.
But since we will not require hot water other than in the bathrooms, tankless water heaters (like the ones in the photo) would be more energy efficient. Water is heated only on demand and there is no wastage since unused hot water (made hot with precious electricity) need not languish in the pipes.
There are, of course, solar heaters in the market. Now, that would be ideal. Since the tropical sun can do the job so well, why not a free energy source for heating water, right? I was able to find some information about BMG Solar Hot Water Systems and it might be worth checking out its product. I can only hope that the solar water heaters don’t cost an arm and a leg.
Solar water heater is the way to go, Connie. It might cost more, but in the long run you can tell Meralco and the oil sheiks to kiss their …
This is where you really need Speedy. He can do cost comparison between solar and tank-less type water heaters – how many years it will take to recover that extra money you have to spend now. After that, all the desserts is free.
I’ll give the company a call today. Wouldn’t I just love to tell Meralco to go shove it up their… LOL
They do cost an arm and a leg at first, but you will recover it quite quickly, esp. in the summer months. What I noticed tho is that you have to have enough water pressure to get the water running through the pipes. Another nice thing about it is, you can also have it piped in to your kitchen sinks, for hot/warm water to help wash those extra greasy dishes.
One thing I liked about it is, you don’t have to worry about getting electrocuted (tho I know the instances of that happening with tankless “instant” water heaters are quite rare), but it’s always at the back of my mind. Also, you get to have hot water even during brown outs hehe.
My dad opted for both, one bathroom has a tankless water heater for when somebody needs to take a late night or very early shower.
I remember reading about a reader’s comment on another blog discussing solar panels. The reader talked about the nightmares trying to get solar panels through customs. They were blocked at every turn. Costs, restrictions, questionings, etc. Meralco don’t want to let anything in that would give people ideas was his conclusion. haay, i wouldn’t put it past those goons.
thanks for putting this up ms connie
hopefully the housing loan i applied for will push through and we could start building our house in october. we’re not hiring a contractor and it will be my hubby who will act as foreman. needless to say, we need all the help we can get.
Chris, that was what Speedy was saying. Solar heater for the bathrooms upstairs and a tankless heater for one bathroom downstairs for the typhoon season.
Pinayhekmi, that was Chris’s comment in my recent column about Meralco.
Hazel, wow, congrats and good luck. I hope you get to build the house of your dreams too.
Ah there it was, i couldn’t remember where I saw it. Sad. The comment not my memory.
Connie, the first apartment I lived here was using tank-less water heater. The water temperature was too difficult to control. It’s like it can only pour out hot water. No warm, no lukewarm.
What we have in the new apartment here is a tank-type. Now the problem with this is after a person has finished taking a shower, you have to wait for the new water to heat up. I’m just not so sure about the power consumption. Maybe you may power off the tank when no one will be using it or after everyone had taken their showers.
Pinayhekmi, Meralco just isn’t concerned about global warming, is it?
Kotsengkuba, there are a lot of new models now with better heating controls and options. Tank-type is a power guzzler.
We have a new house and BMG Solar is trying to get this shit running now for two weeks. I think the company is not able to install it. Now, after paying already 122.000 Pesos they needed another 20000 Pesos to buy a pump to make the heated water circulating. The thermosyphon conduction principle is not working at our house because the tank is lower than the solar panel. Iam very disappointed about BMG Solar. They also damaged our roof!
Ouch! And I was considering them for when I can afford the solar heater. My, bad!