A very ambitious but a necessary one for the future is the ‘net zero’ home. A net zero home is one that is so energy efficient that on average, they consume hardly any energy at all.
Technically, at certain times of the day, they will consume power-solar-equipped houses are not totally off-grid and do use electricity at night, for example-but at other times they would put back an equivalent amount of power back into the electricity grid.
Key players in this home of the future are energy efficient appliances. Naturally, part and parcel of the whole plan is lowering energy consumption but consuming what little we do, wisely. Smart appliances play a very important role in all this. In particular, the tankless water heater. In any of its incarnations but so far, in its most efficient, the gas tankless water heater.
In combination with other technologies, the home of the future, the ‘net zero’ energy house is actually possible today; the cost is just too burdensome. Even now, builders are slowly trying to insert some smart design or “green” design into new developments to make use of the incentive programs laid out by the government, but it comes in what could be described as more of a trickle rather than a wave.
As consumers become more and more familiar with products such as newer insulation technologies, gas tankless water heaters, low-flow water fixtures, CFL and LED light fixtures, solar lighting the demand for such products and other energy efficient solutions are also increasing.
As fossil fuel continue to dwindle, the cost has nowhere to go but up; and as we continue to multiply and expand, so will our needs and our energy requirements. Our only choices are to find a way to generate more energy or to use what we have more efficiently. At the moment, energy efficiency seems the to be the more cost-effective and environmentally viable path.
Pushing for better quality homes with better quality and efficiency equipment can only benefit us in the long run.
To find out more about tankless water heating systems and gas tankless water heaters, visit gas-tankless-water-heater.org