We get this question a lot at Wattbot:  should I choose (or upgrade to) a tankless hot water heater?  The short answer:  don’t make the choice based on efficiency or lifetime costs, as both types are a wash over time.  Instead, choose purely on the basis of the installation.  If you don’t have the space for a tank, or you want an outdoor installation, then choose a tankless.  Otherwise, choose a tank model.

The reason we say that you should only choose a tankless system if you don’t have enough space to install a tank is pretty much for the same reasons that Consumer Reports noted in an October 2008 article:

• Despite heated claims over efficiency, it turns out that modern tank units are only slightly less efficient than tankless units, in real life settings.
• That slight efficiency advantage is rarely enough to make up for the additional up-front costs of a tankless unit over the life of the system.  In the end, a tankless system will at best break even, if a realistic cost analysis is performed.

So our advice is to ignore the partisan efficiency and cost arguments, since they are, for all practical purposes, a wash, and instead just pick your system on the basis of available space.  There’s a reason that tankless systems are popular in Japan — Japanese houses rarely have space for a hot water tank!

Ever wonder why your home is drafty even when all the windows are shut?  Or why no matter how often you turn the air conditioner off, your cooling bill is always $500/month?

You might need to replace your leaky windows with double-paned windows or you might need to add insulation to your attic.  You might also need to buy a more energy efficient in-room air conditioner.  or maybe you can generate some solar power on your roof to lower your energy bill too.  Chances are you probably have to do more than one of these upgrades - but the question is which one should you do first?

Wattbot believes the best upgrade and the one that you should do first is the one that is the most cost-effective.  Type your home’s address into www.wattbot.com to find out what the most cost-effective solution is for your home.

Luckily, the House of Representatives passed the Home Star Energy Retrofit Act which gives anywhere between $3,000 and $8,000 to homeowners who install energy efficient upgrades.  Homeowners can take advantage of one of the two rebate programs, Silver or Gold Star.

Silver Star
Homeowners receive matching funds up to 50% of the total project cost, however, individual appliances would be eligible for rebates of $250.

Gold Star
Homeowners can get a $3,000 rebate if they conduct a whole-house energy analysis and install products that increase their overall energy efficiency by 20%. Plus, you’d be eligible for an additional $1,000 rebate for each further 5% efficiency improvement, up to $8,000.

This bill is also called Cash for Caulkers, so keep your eyes out for the Senate’s vote - it would bring more government funding to the energy efficient upgrades that all homeowners can benefit from.  Leave your questions in the comments.

Are you in the middle of a kitchen remodel?  Or are you thinking about whether or not you should replace your 10 year old refrigerator?  Maybe you’ve had your heart set on that new matching red clothes washer and dryer set for a while now - oops, I’m projecting - well wait until April 22 to buy them, because you’ll get an added rebate.

Starting April 22, 2010 and ending May 23, 2010, the California Energy Commission will give you a rebate in addition to your local utility’s appliance rebate programs.  The Cash4Appliances program gives you the following:

Eligible Refrigerators - $200 
Eligible Clothes Washers - $100 
Eligible Room Air Conditioners - up to $50

Here are a few rules to keep in mind:

1. You have to buy these appliances from an in-state store.  Amazon or BestBuy.com purchases aren’t eligible.  However, BestBuy purchases made in their stores are eligible.
2. You have to show proof that you recycled your old appliance before you can get the rebate.
3. You have to buy your appliances between April 22, 2010 and May 23, 2010 and rebate claims must be postmarked by June 25, 2010.

So if you were thinking about getting a new refrigerator, clothes washer or room air conditioner - browse the stores, see if they’re a good investment and then purchase them between April 22nd and May 23rd.

That’s seven thousand dollars over the course of 20 years!

Frank and Nancy, homeowners on Long Island, ran their house through Wattbot’s energy recommendation system and found out that if they got additional wall cavity insulation they could save seven thousand dollars over the course of 20 years, which is how long they’re going to remain in their home.  (I would too if I were them, they have a beautiful view of the Long Island sound and a built in pool, which is heated with solar panels.)

Tell us how much you could save in ten minutes after you get your personalized energy recommendations (which includes a financial analysis and connections to energy contractors) at www.wattbot.com

We compared 4 homes in the US using Wattbot.com and found that no two homes are alike when it comes to saving money on their energy bill. 

We recommended installing a solar hot water system to the family of three living in a 1972 single-family home in Orinda, California and it would only cost them $1,837 upfront. 

However, even though the solar hot water incentives in New York were bigger, the most cost-effective energy saving recommendation for the Scarsdale home built in 1900 was to install solar electric (Solar PV) panels. Then again it would cost them $25,000 upfront, but the next logical choice to reduce their bill would be to install insulation for less than $1000 upfront and they would still make money on that investment assuming they stayed in their home for another 15 years.

The homes in Randolph, New Jersey and Bethany, Connecticut both got the same recommendation - to install insulation - however, the insulation incentives in New Jersey came out to $300 more than Connecticut’s, although the upfront costs of installing insulation in both states is just under $2,000.

What was surprising was that replacing a refrigerator, while there are rebates available, never came up as the most cost-effective choice, although compared to the other recommendations - it is one of the cheaper upfront cost improvements you can make to lower your energy bill.

Now it’s your turn, type your address into www.wattbot.com and see what the most cost effective way is for you to save money on your energy bill.  Send us an email with your top recommendation and you’ll have a chance to be in our next video.