Water Heaters’ Role in Sustainable Operations

7/15/2024

Water heaters, by design, are bound to use and cycle through vast amounts of water during their operable lifespan. With that in mind, conserving water — whether that is ensuring hot water is immediately available, quickly detecting leaks, or other facet — is a concern when it comes to operating a water heater. Additionally, water heater technology has evolved over time with new advancements making them more efficient and sustainable. 

Facility Maintenance Decisions spoke with water heater manufacturers to see how water heaters can play a role in a facility’s sustainable operations. 

FMD: How does newer water heater technology contribute towards a facility’s sustainability goals? 

“Regardless of which technology you opt for, whether we’re talking high-efficiency gas-fired water heaters, electric resistance or heat pumps, water heaters have gotten very efficient in recent years, and a facility can significantly reduce their overall carbon footprint with a variety of solutions. Beyond that, advanced controls and features, including water heater sequencing technology and predictive maintenance, can maximize operational efficiency and prolong the life of the water heaters.  

You also have accessories like digital mixing valves and anti-scale solutions that should not be overlooked when it comes to their impact. Digital valves can precisely maintain optimal water temperatures to prevent overheating and unnecessary energy use, while preventing scale buildup in your water heater helps maintain energy efficiency.” 

— Mark Croce, senior product manager, AERCO 

“Heat pumps have become a popular choice for many facilities due to the high COP that makes them very energy efficient, even compared to electric resistance, which means that heat pumps can have a big impact on a facility’s sustainability goals in terms of reducing energy usage as well as moving away from fossil fuels entirely.” 

— Brian Jahn, associate product manager, Lync 

“Utilizing heat pump water heaters with a high COP and a low Global Warming Potential refrigerant allows a facility to get one step closer to meeting their sustainability goals. For facilities that prefer to use gas-condensing water heaters, there are now units available with up to 99 percent thermal efficiency – making them great for users and the environment.” 

— Rhea-Anne Pendley, senior product manager, Lochinvar 

FMD: How are newer water heaters conserving water? 

“Water usage is a function of the point-of-use demand, so it’s not possible for water heaters to impact water conservation. Of course, recirculation loops and pumps built into the water heating system can ensure that hot water is always available at the tap, which reduces the amount of water wasted while waiting for it to heat up. This is particularly beneficial in large buildings. 

Detecting leaks in the system is another means to conserve water. Some water heaters integrate technology or are compatible with technology that help detect such leakages in the system. In addition to water conservation, leak detection can mitigate building damage.” 

— Mark Croce, senior product manager, AERCO 

“One thing is water conservation understood in terms of usage. Another is in terms of the hot water that goes back out afterwards. What is the quality of that water? While the use of chemicals like chlorine, reverse osmosis systems and water softeners are entirely justified in many cases to ensure the water is treated properly to be safe for building occupants and prolong the lifespan of water heaters and wider plumbing system, they do produce byproducts and can be associated with water wastage.  

As for water heaters, there are solutions built with materials that allow for higher storage temperatures to mitigate pathogen growth and are built with corrosion-resistant materials to reduce the need to treat the water.” 

— Helen Ringle, product manager, PVI 

“Tankless water heating technology has evolved significantly. Nowadays, tankless water heaters can reliably deliver all the hot water needed by large facilities. The resulting systems conserve significant amounts of water and energy since tankless water heaters do not need to store large amounts of potable water.” 

— Amy Turner, vice president of marketing, Intellihot 

“Renewable energy isn’t the only way to conserve energy. Newer water heaters offer technology to eliminate wasted energy. This technology can be implemented in a building in many forms: on-demand tankless systems only heating water when it is needed, recirculation systems reducing the amount of water wasted while waiting for it to heat up, and smart water heaters with advanced sensors and controls to optimize heating schedule based on usage patterns.” 

— Hillary Heyerdahl, project manager – commercial water, Rheem 

Jeff Wardon, Jr. is the assistant editor for the facilities market.