Improving water heaters for sustainability

Buildings use about 40% of the total U.S. energy demand. Water heaters provide hot water for a variety of building uses including sinks, showers, dishwashers, washing machines, and space heating. Water heaters are the second most energy intensive appliances in a common household. Typically a home water heater's energy sources is natural gas. There are other types of tank water heaters including ultra low NOx, and electric resistance. Figure 1 displays the differences in water heater types. Electric resistance water heaters use electrical grid power. Building owners burdent thec cost of water heating through the initial water heater cost, energy bills, and the communal air pollution they breathe. Burning and extracting non-renewable fuels including natural gas leads to climate change. Water heaters noticeably attribute air pollution to winter inversions have adverse affects on human health. Combusted air pollutants include Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Nitorgen oxides (NOx), and Sulfur oxides (SOx). Pushing towards the future Salt Lake City has set a goal to reduce 80% of green house gases emissions by the year 2040 setting a demand for water heater emissions reduction.