Ontario residents - why are you paying $200 to $700 too much per year on your gas bill? 

With so many green options available on the market today and so many products claiming to be green when they really aren't - it is nearly impossible for the average consumer to be aware of what their real options are and how to avoid spending more than they should.

So the average consumer sticks with the expensive convenience and in the process spends $200 to $700 per year MORE than they need to. This is just wrong!

The two biggest gas expenses in your home is your furnace (for heating in the winter) and your gas hot water tank which runs 24 hours a day every single day.

Here is the problem with that - you dont actually need hot water 24 hours a day, in fact you only actually use a limited amount of hot water each day (shower, laundry, washing dishes - in fact the average family uses only 1 to 2 hours worth of hot water a day).

So why are you heating 400 pounds of water the other 22 to 23 hours every day? This constantly cooking hot water wastes on average $200 to $300 per year in additional heating fuel (gas).

Then add to that most homeowners in Ottawa are renting their hot water tanks at outrageous rental rates... think about it, if you can get a power vent gas hot water tank fully installed for $1,700 then WHY would you pay 3 to 4 times that price in order just to rent it?  This means you are paying an extra $250 to $450 per year just for rental rates.

It is more cost effective just to take out a small loan or use your major credit card to pay for the tank up front than to pay and pay and pay for no real benefit.

I've heard some homeowners say "if I rent it then they take care of it for me" but this too is a myth...

The rental companies do not typically take care of these rental hot water tanks. The reason is simple - They expect 99.9% of the tanks they install to work perfectly for the life of the tank (which is 10 to 12 years).  If you have problems with your tank then you wait a few days without water only to have them replace it since they don't usually fix them. And they DO charge you for upgrades to your venting so it typically isn't even a free install.

So why honestly do you need to pay more?

There is a better way than cooking 400 pounds of water every hour of every day (which is what a hot water tank does) - there is a technology that has been around for a very long time in Europe called an instantaneous water heater (or tankless unit). This unit remains off until there is a demand for hot water.

For example if you turn the shower on the unit fires up and heats the water instantly, when you turn the shower off the unit turns off again.

When you turn on the dishwasher the unit turns on and as soon as the dishwasher has enough hot water the unit turns off again.

Talk about a simple solution to a ton of wasted fuel. Plus it saves over 2 pounds of carbon on the environment every single day.

So why isn't everyone using them now?

Just 10 years ago the price was so expensive no one could afford to install them in Ottawa. This is no longer true today.

There is also rumors that these tankless units don't work in Canada - well that is partially true, but with the new technology available there are some amazing units that can and do work very well in Canada... but you do have to know which ones and what to look for.

Here was the main problem with the traditional tankless water heating system - many of the units sold in North America have been designed for the southern states. This means that they don't have to deal with extremely cold ground water temperature in the winter time (ground water stays around 65°F to 72°F year round).

For that reason many of the units being sold simply are not powerful enough to heat up our Canadian winter water (which gets down to 5°F in the winter).

Are there tankless units that will work in Canada?

Absolutely, but you really have to do your homework.  There is some great information available out there you can get for free at www.FrancisTankless.com (they offer a free buyers guide that tells you what to look for when shopping around).

Getting rid of your old inefficient hot water tank should be a high priority if you are looking to stop wasting money by putting your money back into your own pockets.

Just think about it - if you save $500 per year with only a 4% interest on your RSP plan - here is what you would save.

Year 1: $500 + 4% (the average on RSP investments) = $520.00

Year 2: $1020.00 + 4% = $1060.80

Year 3: $1560.80 + 4% = $1,623.23

Year 4: $2123.23 + 4% = $2,208.16

Year 5: $2,708.16 + 4% = $2,816.49

Year 20: you have $15,484.60

Since the new tankless lasts 20 to 25 years and the price fully installed starts around $2,500... the unit is paid for IN FULL by year 5 with the next 15 years of savings going right into your pocket.

And you saved 2 pounds of carbon a day on the environment x 365 days x 20 years = 14,600 pounds of carbon you removed from the environment just by switching to a tankless.

That's 7.3 TONS of carbon.  Can you imagine how our air quality would improve if everyone in the neighborhood did this?

Nothing frustrates me more than seeing my friends and neighbors wasting their hard earned money simply for the prividge of making some big company rich! 

An Important Reminder:

If you are going to get a tankless make sure you get one that will actually work in Canada (minimum 150,000 BTU gas fired only with build in flow modulator and built in anti-freeze kit).

And don't forget your Free tankless guide at www.FrancisTankless.com so you know what questions to ask when shopping around.

With gas prices on the rise we really do need to find alternative green sources that save not only on our resources but also save on our environment.

 Kay Kinder - author & consumers advocate ©2011