When a water heater reaches a certain age, it can be easy to assume it’s living on borrowed time. It’s hard to say how long your water heater will last. Certified home inspectors estimate the life span to be about 10 years. Some manufacturers suggest 12 to 13 years, but it’s not unheard of for a water tank to last more than 40 years before the heating element finally gives out. That said, it’s wise to replace a water heater before it fails, because that failure can cause a lot of damage.
For most of us, heating and cooling accounts for the largest part of our household energy use. For someone wanting to replace a furnace system that runs on propane or fuel oil, an electric air-source heat pump could be a good alternative. A heat pump is also a cost-effective alternative to electric furnaces, baseboard heaters, and wall units.
Those who haven’t shopped for a new car in a while may be surprised to find the cost of new electric vehicles (EVs) is now comparable to that of gasoline-powered cars. With that in mind, it’s not so surprising that the EV market is growing rapidly. There’s lots more, however, that consumers should know about them in order to make an informed buying decision.
Many times, prospective homebuyers are so caught up examining other aspects of the houses they see, they don’t consider energy costs (such as electricity, gas, and propane) in their decision. They ought to, since the average home costs about $2,000 in energy expenses per year — that’s a lot of money over the life of the home.
The size of a home is one of the most important factors that will determine energy costs. As square footage increases, lighting requirements increase, and more importantly, the burden on heating and cooling equipment increases.
