Most people overlook their hot water systems when thinking about saving power and money. However, that is not the case.

An electric hot water system consumes more power than any other single appliance in a home. On average, a hot water system costs over $865 per year in electricity (2018). Opting for energy-efficient options like a solar hot water system can reduce this cost by at least 80%, translating to approximately $700 in annual power savings. Similarly, choosing the right brand of a heat pump hot water system can save you around $620 on your power bill, and even more if you use it more.

In simple terms, the cost difference between the purchase price and running costs of a standard electric water heater and either a heat pump or solar system is about 3 years to break even, and then it leads to significant cost savings.