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With all the talk of "going green" today, you can do a variety of things to help the environment while reducing your energy bills. For example:

* Purchase a programmable thermostat, or increase the temperature above 78 during the daytime (summer) or below 68 during the daytime (winter).
* Purchase ENERGY STAR-rated appliances
* Purchase a higher-SEER (14 or above) air conditioner or a 90 percent-rated AFUE furnace

* Insulate your home with R-14 (or above) insulation
* Seal doors and windows
* Take shorter showers
* Replace all incandescent lighting in your home with compact fluourescent light bulbs
* Purchase solar screens, window tinting, or solar film for sunny windows
* Set your computer to sleep, or turn it off, when not in use
* Unplug all computer equipment (printer, fax, etc.) when not in use

However, today I'd like to focus on one "green building" investment that will reduce electricity consumption in your home while preserving the environment and putting a little extra money in your pocket: tankless water heaters.

Tankless water heaters are becoming increasingly popular due to their supposed ability to conserve energy and to provide instantaneous hot water. But just what is a tankless water heater, and how can it heat water if there's no tank? And most importantly, do they help save energy? Let's take a closer look at the ins and outs of these new water heaters.

Tankless vs. Traditional Water Heaters
Traditional water heaters collect water in a large tank and heat it. These must keep the water at a certain temperature, all day, every day; thus the heater's elements are working quite often. When hot water is used in the home, for example after a shower, the hot water heater must refill with water and heat it up again. So you can see just how much energy is consumed just by heating and maintaining hot water on a daily basis.

Maintenance is also an issue with tank water heaters. Experts recommend frequent draining of the unit in order to expel sediments that collect in the bottom of the unit. Doing so ostensibly increases the energy efficiency of the water heater, though in my own experience I'm not so sure it made much of a difference. In areas with higher mineral content water, internal corrosion of the water heater can also become a problem that reduces energy efficiency.

Tankless water heaters work by heating water as it passes through the unit, which is typically mounted on the side of the home. The energy savings are substantial as the unit turns on only when a

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