man working on water heater

Hot Water Heater Maintenance

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How Your Hot Water Heater Can Save You Money

man working on water heater

It pays to keep your water heater working efficiently.

Did you know that 18% of your average energy bill comes from heating your water? Heating water requires more energy than any other household task except heating and cooling your whole home. Making sure your water heater is as efficient as it can be will save you money.

Inefficient water heaters do a poorer job of heating your water which increases your utility bills. Fortunately, there are a few simple steps that every homeowner can take to improve the energy efficiency and lower the cost of operating their water heater. Read more →

tankless water heater installed

Tank-Style vs. Tankless Water Heaters

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Should I Get a Tankless Water Heater?

Three to four times a month we get an inquiry at Brenneco Plumbing about “Should I get a tankless or a standard tank-style water heater?”  Of course the proverbial answer to that question is, “It depends”.  Both provide hot water for your needs, but they work differently. Depending on your home and personal water needs, one may be a better fit over the other. Read more →

Brenneco Plumbing | Greater Lafayette Plumber

Should I buy a tankless water heater?

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Tankless water heaters are the newest advancement in water heaters. While they aren’t as new as they used to be, many still don’t know if their home is the right place for one. As a Lafayette Plumber, we see so many types of homes and families. There is no way to give a blanket answer to the question.

The best we can do is walk you through the good, the bad, and the ugly of choosing a tankless water heater.

The Good

Tankless water heaters are more energy efficient and cost less to operate.

Tankless water heaters only use energy when they heat the water. Traditional water heaters use gas to heat water even if you’re not using it. This wasted energy costs you money! Water heaters that use tanks are programmed to keep the water in the tank ready at all times. This means you pay for “stand by” heat. Read more →

Performing water heater maintenance is vital to it having a long life. Brenneco Plumbing, your Lafayette Plumber, can help!

How big of a water heater should I get?

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Are you thinking about getting a new water heater? Maybe your unit is getting older or it’s just not performing the way you think it should. If you are replacing your water heater, the question of size is going to come up at some point.

In consideration of water heaters, bigger isn’t always better. A water heater tank that is too small will put you in danger of running out of hot water when you need it most. On the other hand, a water heater with a tank that is too big will waste energy on heating water that you and your family will never use.

This means that determining the right size for your situation is vital. The good news? This is easier to do than every before! All you need to do is a follow a few tips and do a little research. You should be able to find the perfect solution for your situation!

There are, essentially, two factors to take in to consideration when factoring the size of the water heater you should get, the FHR and the EF. Read more →

Performing water heater maintenance is vital to it having a long life. Brenneco Plumbing, your Lafayette Plumber, can help!

Can I fix my water heater instead of replacing it?

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The quick answer is yes, in some cases!

If your water heater isn’t performing to your expectations, it might be time to have it checked out. You are probably wondering if there are any repairs you can do yourself. While there are definitely problems that have simple solutions, you should seriously consider having a professional plumber assist you. There are many different things that can happen if you water heater happens to malfunction or ultimately fail.

If you do decide to do some problem solving before calling a lafayette plumber, the first step is diagnosing what might be wrong.

The most common complaint we see in regards to water heaters is that they aren’t heating the water to a high enough temperature. If you haven’t adjusted the temperature setting on the water heater, that might be the place to start. If you have already carefully adjusted the heat setting up to a safe temperature and it’s still not hot enough, you may have a bigger problem. Read more →

Performing water heater maintenance is vital to it having a long life. Brenneco Plumbing, your Lafayette Plumber, can help!

How do I know if my water heater is going bad?

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So, your hot showers don’t last quite as long as they used to? The hot water takes a little longer to get to you than it used to? We get it. At Brenneco Plumbing, we got a lot of questions from people in Greater Lafayette about when to replace their water heater.

As a Lafayette Plumber, we see water heaters that run on Lafayette or West Lafayette city water and we see water heaters that run on well water. Either situation can be just fine as long as proper maintenance is taking place. However, since your water heater is a piece of equipment, it will only last so long.

So how do you know if your water heater is at the end of it’s life or it just needs a little help? Good question! Here are a few simple tips to help you work through some of the easier fixes yourself. If you complete this list and still have problem, we would love to help. At Brenneco Plumbing, we are here for you! Read more →