DATELINE: SOUTH BOSTON, MA…

Looking for a different way to trim your energy bill?

New Englanders often focus on the high cost of keeping their homes heated in the winter, but an often overlooked drain on the budget is the cost of heating hot water day in and day out, 365 days a year.

John Wood, founder and CEO of Hub Plumbing & Mechanical in South Boston, MA offers some food for thought if you’re in the market for a new water heater. Notes Wood, “Tankless water heaters may provide a more energy efficient alternative than conventional storage water heaters. Tankless water heaters provide hot water on demand, instantaneously as it is needed. Since tankless water hot water heaters don’t have a storage tank, you can save on energy costs since you’re not constantly keeping an entire tank full of water hot.”

According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Consumer’s Guide to Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy “For homes that use 41 gallons or less of hot water daily, demand water heaters can be 24%–34% more energy efficient than conventional storage tank water heaters. They can be 8%–14% more energy efficient for homes that use a lot of hot water—around 86 gallons per day. You can achieve even greater energy savings of 27%–50% if you install a demand water heater at each hot water outlet.”

With a tankless water heater, when the hot water tap is turned on, cold water travels through a pipe into the unit where it is then heated – either by a gas burner in a gas fired water heater, or by an electric element in an electric water heater. Energy savings can be maximized on gas powered units by employing a model that utilizes an intermittent ignition device rather than a pilot light.

In large households, where there may be a demand for simultaneous multiple uses of hot water, two or more demand water heaters can be installed. Separate demand water heaters can also be installed to supply appliances that use large quantities of water, such as clothes washers or dishwashers.

Most tankless water heaters have a life expectancy of more than 20 years. Ongoing periodic maintenance and easily replaceable parts can also often extend the life of the unit.

If you had the foresight to buy a tankless water heater in 2007, don’t forget to file for a Residential Energy Credit with your 2007 tax return to be eligible for a tax credit of up to $300. Unfortunately, Congress has not yet enacted an energy credit for tankless water heaters purchased in 2008.

About Hub Plumbing & Mechanical

Hub Plumbing & Mechanical takes the plumbing industry to the next level, utilizing a professional, friendly, customer-centered approach. In addition to protecting your floors with red carpet, Hub Plumbing and Mechanical’s experienced plumbers also cover their work boots with stain-resistant boot covers, wear ID badges for security purposes, and arrive on time and smartly dressed in crisp, clean uniforms.

The company does not charge by the hour, but by the specific project. Hub Plumbing & Mechanical is available 24 hours a day and 7 seven days a week to provide immediate access and peace of mind. Dedicated 2nd and 3rd shift night dispatchers internally handle all calls at Hub Plumbing & Mechanical, not an answering service. The difference between the two enables Hub Plumbing & Mechanical to get real-time info on the customer 24/7 to expedite the call as efficiently as possible.

Hub Plumbing & Mechanical was established in 1999 and now includes a staff of 16 full time employees. This full service plumbing company assists residential and commercial customers with code violations, sewer/drain clogs, garbage disposals, water heaters, water filtration, steam and hot water boilers, thermostats, leaky faucets, tub valves, gas pipes, appliance installation, and outside hose faucets.

Hub Plumbing & Mechanical Inc. is located at 70 Old Colony Avenue in South Boston, MA 02127. For more information about Hub Plumbing & Mechanical call 1-866-HUBPLUMBING (482-7586), email services@hubplumbing.com, or visit www.hubplumbing.com.

 

DATELINE: DORCHESTER, MA…

Don’t be alarmed if you don’t know what your AFUE is – most people don’t know the answer or even what the acronym means. However, the AFUE (annual fuel utilization efficiency) of your furnace or boiler provides the key to how much fuel you’ll burn this winter according to John Wood, founder and CEO of Hub Plumbing & Mechanical of Boston.

 

According to the U.S. Department of Energy “Specifically, AFUE is the ratio of heat output of the furnace or boiler compared to the total energy consumed by a furnace or boiler. An AFUE of 90% means that 90% of the energy in the fuel becomes heat for the home and the other 10% escapes up the chimney and elsewhere.”

 

To make comparisons easy for consumers, new models of furnaces and boilers are required to display their AFUE, but it’s also possible to identify and compare a system’s efficiency by its equipment features as well. For instance, an old, low-efficiency heating system that utilizes a natural draft for combustion and features a continuous pilot light may have an AFUE of only 68%-72% according to U.S. Department of Energy estimates. “Compared to a high efficiency heating system with an AFUE of 90%-97%, it’s a cold hard fact that replacing an older, less efficient heating system can shave 30% or more off of fuel bills,” notes Wood.

As of mid September, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs estimated the average statewide cost of heating oil at $3.82 a gallon. “Although most people know it’s going to take a small fortune to heat their home this winter at those prices, they often don’t really think about the efficiency of their boiler or furnace as long as the unit continues to fire up every heating season,” notes Wood. “Even though a high efficiency boiler or furnace can be expensive to purchase upfront, think about the alternative – literally watching a third or more of your annual heating fuel cost going up in smoke.”

 

U.S. Department of Energy estimates indicate that replacing an existing heating system with an AFUE of 60% with a high efficiency system with an AFUE of 90% could save $33.33 for every $100 of fuel costs. In addition, high efficiency heating systems not only offer a way to save on fuel costs, but also help save the planet. The U.S. Department of Energy points out that, “Upgrading your furnace or boiler from 56% to 90% efficiency in an average cold-climate house will save 1.5 tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year if you heat with gas, or 2.5 tons if you heat with oil.”

 

ENERGY STAR, a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy, provides more food for thought by offering an online savings calculator that helps consumers look at their potential savings when heating with a high efficiency heating system versus a conventional heating system. The free interactive calculator can be found at www.energystar.gov.

 

About Hub Plumbing & Mechanical

Hub Plumbing & Mechanical was established in 1999 and now includes a staff of 16 full time employees. This full service plumbing company assists residential and commercial customers with code violations, sewer/drain clogs, garbage disposals, water heaters, water filtration, steam and hot water boilers, thermostats, leaky faucets, tub valves, gas pipes, appliance installation, outside hose faucets, and residential HVAC service.

 

Hub Plumbing & Mechanical was recently highlighted in a new book entitled “The Celebrity Experience” where Hub Plumbing & Mechanical’s Red Carpet Service was cited as an example of how it’s possible to create faithful life long customers by showering them with treatment usually reserved for celebrities.

 

Hub Plumbing and Mechanical’s signature Red Carpet service features experienced teams of licensed technicians who not only protect your floors with a red carpet, but also cover their work boots with stain-resistant booties, wear ID badges for security purposes, and arrive on time and smartly dressed in crisp, clean uniforms.

 

The company does not charge by the hour, but by the specific project. Hub Plumbing & Mechanical is available 24 hours a day and 7 seven days a week to provide immediate access and peace of mind. Dedicated 2nd and 3rd shift night dispatchers internally handle all calls at Hub Plumbing & Mechanical, not an answering service. The difference between the two enables Hub Plumbing & Mechanical to get real-time info on the customer 24/7 to expedite the call as efficiently as possible.

 

Hub Plumbing & Mechanical Inc. is located at 70 Old Colony Avenue in South Boston, MA 02127. For more information about Hub Plumbing & Mechanical call 1-866-HUBPLUMBING (482-7586), email services@hubplumbing.com, or visit www.hubplumbing.com.

 

 

DATELINE:  SOUTH BOSTON, MA…Do you gag at the thought of drinking water straight from your tap? Have you and your family become bottled water addicts as a result?  Or, do you hold your nose while you shower because of the smell of your water? Can’t rinse off that scummy soap film either?If so, John Wood, founder and CEO of Hub Plumbing & Mechanical of Boston outlines some alternative methods that can be used to clean up your water. First of all, many consumers buy bottled water because they assume it’s safer or cleaner than what comes out of the tap from their municipal water source or well. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates bottled water used for drinking. While most consumers assume that bottled water is at least as safe as tap water, there are still potential risks. Although required to meet the same safety standards as public water supplies, bottled water does not undergo the same testing and reporting as water from a treatment facility. Water that is bottled and sold in the same state may not be subject to any federal standards at all.”Wood urges consumers to take matters into their own hands by employing an in-home water filtration system. “If clean drinking water is your primary concern, a number of alternatives to buying bottled water are available. All offer greener alternatives to bottled water, reducing the huge volume of plastic water bottles that end up in landfills. Point-of-use (POU) systems treat water at a single tap. Point-of-use systems include pour-through products, faucet mount filters, counter-top manual fill systems, counter-top systems connected to sink faucet, or plumbed-in systems that are installed under the sink with a permanent connection to an existing water pipe.”If your water woes are more widespread and include problems with rust or sediment, scale or odors, you might want to consider a point-of-entry filtration system explains Wood. “Point-of-entry (POE) systems treat water as it enters the house, providing filtered water for use throughout the house for drinking, bathing, cooking, laundry and dishwashers.” Continues Wood, “POE systems can stop dirt, sediment, rust and scale. Both rust and sediment, left unchecked, can ruin appliances while scale creates unsightly build up on water fixtures, coats water heating elements thereby reducing their efficiency, wastes soap by reducing its lathering ability, and leaves an unpleasant residue on your skin, hair, and clothes when they are washed. Also, one of the most common chemical disinfectants found in municipal city water supplies is chlorine, which tastes and smells bad and can be removed with a carbon filter.”Both POU and POE devices are based on various contaminant removal technologies including carbon filtration, ion exchange, reverse osmosis, and distillation. In addition, flow rate, filter size, filter life and port size are also important components in point-of-entry systems, which require professional installation. Whichever system is used, it should meet NSF/ANSI standard 53 and be certified to remove the contaminants of concern in your water.About Hub Plumbing & MechanicalHub Plumbing & Mechanical was established in 1999 and now includes a staff of 16 full time employees. This full service plumbing company assists residential and commercial customers with code violations, sewer/drain clogs, garbage disposals, water heaters, water filtration, steam and hot water boilers, thermostats, leaky faucets, tub valves, gas pipes, appliance installation, outside hose faucets, and residential HVAC service.Hub Plumbing & Mechanical was recently highlighted in a new book entitled “The Celebrity Experience” where Hub Plumbing & Mechanical’s Red Carpet Service was cited as an example of how it’s possible to create faithful life long customers by showering them with treatment usually reserved for celebrities.Hub Plumbing and Mechanical’s signature Red Carpet service features experienced teams of licensed technicians who not only protect your floors with a red carpet, but also cover their work boots with stain-resistant booties, wear ID badges for security purposes, and arrive on time and smartly dressed in crisp, clean uniforms.The company does not charge by the hour, but by the specific project. Hub Plumbing & Mechanical is available 24 hours a day and 7 seven days a week to provide immediate access and peace of mind. Dedicated 2nd and 3rd shift night dispatchers internally handle all calls at Hub Plumbing & Mechanical, not an answering service. The difference between the two enables Hub Plumbing & Mechanical to get real-time info on the customer 24/7 to expedite the call as efficiently as possible.Hub Plumbing & Mechanical Inc. is located at 70 Old Colony Avenue in South Boston, MA 02127. For more information about Hub Plumbing & Mechanical call 1-866-HUBPLUMBING (482-7586), email services@hubplumbing.com, or visit www.hubplumbing.com.