The reliability of your hot water service will be dependent on the quality of your water heaters and the security of your fuel source.

No matter how expensive your electrical hot water system is; if there isn’t any electricity then you have no hot water.

Relying on Others

If you are relying on others providing your fuel then you always run the risk of no fuel. This was the problem faced by millions of Victorians in 1998 when a deadly explosion at the state’s main gas production site caused supply to the state’s gas consumers to cease for almost three weeks, meaning anyone who relied on gas hot water was left with cold showers. After this event many Victorians invested in alternative types of hot water systems meaning an increased popularity of electrical and solar hot water systems.

Fuelling the Fire

Every system needs fuel, some of these you can supply yourself, others, nature provides and others you need provided by others. Solar power is provided by nature and let’s face it, if your main source of fuel, the sun, goes away, we have much bigger problems than no hot water. The sun lets off solar power even on cloudy days. Wood, the fuel commonly used in slow combustion methods, is a fuel source that you can provide yourself but isn’t free, unless you have land and trees of your own.

Reliability of your System

• Age – as with most household appliances, the older a unit is, the more likely is it to suffer from failure or complete break down.
• Quality – when you purchased your hot water system you would have looked at a number of options and models. As with most other things, you get what you pay for.
• Installation – incorrect installation may damage your hot water system and affect its operation over time, make sure you get a professional to install your system.
• Technology – newer technology allows systems such as solar systems to have a much longer life span than the solar systems made 20 years ago.
• Location – if your system has a pilot light and is in a high wind area the reliability of your system is decreased. No pilot light, no hot water.
• Size – if your system doesn’t provide the amount of hot water that you need then you will run out of hot water. Larger families need larger storage systems, check the size of the system.
• Water Quality – if the quality of the water running through your system is low then your system will lose reliability sooner and need replacing sooner. Hard water is a common bad quality water.
• Climate – a solar hot water system is going to be reliable in a sunny climate than in a cloudy one. Wood fuel slow combustion is better in colder climates than in the tropics.

The most reliable system for you will depend on many factors so ensure that you do your homework and know what all your options are. Your choice may be dictated by cost as well so speak to the installer or manufacturer about interest-free terms. This option may allow you to install the highest quality and most reliable hot water system sooner rather than later.