The Not So Simple Task Of Heating Water
Few concepts in plumbing sound as simple as heating water
. Yet as any Fairfax plumber will tell you, there are a number of things to take into account.
A long story
Its not entirely clear when humanity first started to heat water for various purposes around the home or other buildings. Certainly the Romans had their own technologies for doing so in bath houses and the like, however the techniques may go far further back than that.
In theory, it sounds pretty simple. You just heat the water, store it in a tank and use it when you need it. In practise though, it is a little more complicated than that.
The challenges
When you are heating water, you have a number of things to think about:
how you are going to heat the water
the purpose you are going to put it to once heated
where you are going to use it
where you are going to store it before use; or if you are going to heat it only at the time the water is required, how are you going to get it from the point of origin to where you need to deliver it to
how are you going to do all this safely?
Whether you were an ancient Roman engineer or you are a modern Fairfax plumber, the same challenges and questions apply just as much today as they did millennia ago.
Heat sources
In the modern world, we tend to heat water in one of the following ways:
through electricity
by combustion of gas or oil
through the combustion of solid fuels such as wood and coal
by the sun through solar panels or radiant heat exchangers.
If you are using electricity, its necessary to keep in mind that, as we all learn in basic high school physics, water and electricity are a potentially dangerous combination unless handled professionally and expertly. Electricity also costs money, so economy is an issue. Solid fuels, assuming you have the right boiler, are fine though they can be a little messy and occasionally a fire hazard. Gas and oil fired boilers work well but both fuel sources are a finite resource and prices are rising.
All combustion-based solutions may produce pollution of one sort or another. If you live in this beautiful part of Northern Virginia, your Fairfax plumber also needs to think very carefully about ventilation and carbon monoxide risks with those methods. Finally, variations on solar energy are becoming increasingly popular, though the technology can still be moderately expensive and some people would dispute the payback calculations.
Basic solar heated tubed-water heat exchange systems are more economical and probably more environmentally friendly but they may be less than successful in periods when it is dark and gloomy.
How to choose
There is no really straightforward answer to the question of the best way to heat water.
Some of the above sources might simply not be an option where you live or, if they are, they may not be optimum for your particular home. Choosing the right water heating solution for your lifestyle is something best done with professional advice rather than simply looking at the price tags of glossy advertisements. Ask for professional help - and that is where your Fairfax plumber comes in!
Sarah Saadoun works for HMS Plumbing, a family-owned business in Manassas, Northern Virginia. If you need a
Fairfax plumber , Herve and his dedicated employees at HMS are proud to be serving the plumbing needs of Northern Virginia residents and businesses. For a reliable Fairfax plumber HMS Plumbing is your first choice.
by: Sarah Saadoun
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