Winter Is Hard on Your Water Heater, Too

Your home heating system works hardest during the winter as it attempts to keep pace with cold Rhode Island temperatures to keep you comfortable. But it’s not the only one of your home comfort appliance that labors most during the winter: your water heater does, too.

You may have assumed that your water heater works equally hard in every season, since it has the same basic job to do all year long. But that isn’t true: your water heater has winter conditions that it too must overcome, including:

• Dealing with greater standing heat loss – If you’re like many homeowners in our Rhode Island service area, you probably own a conventional water heater (one with a storage tank) that sits in a cold basement. As water in the storage tank waits to be used, it loses heat – a phenomenon known as standing heat loss. The more standing heat loss you have, the harder your water heater will have to work to keep your water hot and ready for your appliances and taps.
• Warming colder water – The fresh water entering your home during the winter is colder (that is, it has a lower inlet temperature) – which means it takes more energy to heat the water than it does at other times of the year.
• More hot water use – Most people take longer, hotter showers to warm up during the winter – which means more work for your water heater.

These conditions increase the heating load on your water heater, which opens the door for higher energy bills (since anywhere from 15-20 percent of your energy bill comes from heating water) and a greater risk for water heater repairs.

If your water heater is acting up, or if you notice that your energy bill is rising compared to last year, it’s a good idea to schedule routine maintenance for your oil-fired water heater as soon as possible. Our technicians will quickly get your equipment running at its best so you can enjoy hot water and lower bills all year long. If they discover that a water heater upgrade is a better choice than a repair, they can suggest a top quality replacement and get it installed in an afternoon.

Keep the hot water coming and your energy bills as low as possible with high efficiency water heater maintenance and installations from the pros at Vaughn Oil. Contact us today to learn more!