Need to know how to choose the proper sized water heater for your commercial property? Whether you are looking for commercial gas water heaters or an electric water heater, there are certain steps you can take to choose the perfect size. Keep reading to determine exactly how you can choose the perfect sized water heater.
1. Determine your peak hour
The first step you want to take in order to determine what size water heater you will need is to determine your peak hour. Peak hour refers to the hour when you use your water heater the most. For example, if no one is at your building during the morning but during the afternoon more people are washing dishes, your peak hour would be sometime during the afternoon. Basically, you want to find the hour within a typical day where the most hot water is being used. It may be hard to know exactly when this is, but an estimate should work depending on what your specific needs are.
2. Figure out your hot water needs
Next, you can use this time to try to calculate how much hot water you are actually using in your peak hour. For example, you can try to calculate how long someone is washing dishes and then figure out how many approximate gallons of water they are using. It may be helpful to collect data for a day during your peak hour and then calculate your approximate hot water usage afterward. You could also use a basic formula to make an estimate. About 18% of a property's energy use comes from water heating, so if you know your property's energy use during a peak hour you could do some simple math to make an estimate about how much hot water is used. Commercial gas water heaters tend to use more energy than other water heaters, so this method may be less accurate.
3. Research water heaters
Once you have figured out your hot water needs, you can start researching water heaters. No matter if you are looking for commercial gas water heaters or electric hot water heaters, look for an FHR, or first hour rating. This tells you the number of gallons of hot water the water heater can provide within one hour. You can then use this to compare it with your peak-hour hot water usage and determine which size water heater would best fit the needs of your building.
Figuring out what size of commercial gas water heaters you need can be tricky if you are not sure where to start. If you're not sure about which size commercial gas water heater is right for you, contact Miami Water Heater today.