The P. Gagnon & Son Blog

Paying more for your space and water heating bills? The culprit may be in your basement

water heaterTechnology moves very quickly these days – your kids have probably never heard of compact disks or film, can’t imagine a world without streaming video, and don’t even know what a “land line” is.

While technology in home comfort isn’t changing at quite the pace of personal electronics or millennial culture, it still is transforming rather rapidly – and most of those changes are for the better.

Take water heaters and boilers, for example. In the 1980s, a state-of-the-art boiler might feature an internal tankless coil within its water jacket; cold water was pumped through this coil where it was heated by the boiler to produce hot water for the house.

While the idea was innovative at the time, it was grossly inefficient by today’s standards – particularly because it would require the boiler to run well into July to keep the water hot enough to use in appliances and taps! Other “it sounded good at the time” water and space heating ideas included external tankless coils and aqua boosters.

Fast forward to 2019 and the entire landscape of space and water heating has changed.

Today’s boilers and water heaters (separate or in combination, as in an Energy Kinetics System 2000 system) are extremely effective, versatile, and efficient, with some models reaching efficiency ratings well into the upper-90 percent range (which could be 30 to 40 percent higher than the equipment languishing in your basement right now). They work quietly and reliably, and they live longer, too: the average Rinnai tankless propane water heater, for example, has a life span that nearly doubles its conventional, water storing counterparts.

The bottom line

If you’re looking for a reason why you are paying more than ever to heat your home and water, look no further than the boiler and water heater your basement; if they were installed when Back to the Future was in theaters, you are definitely overdue for a heating equipment or water heater upgrade.

Ready to let go of that ancient boiler or water heater in your basement? Contact us today for a FREE, no obligation estimate on a high efficiency tankless water heater from Rinnai, an Energy Kinetics System 2000, or any of our other great water heater or boiler options.