A hot shower is wonderful anytime, but it’s especially enjoyable during the cold winter months. If you’re building a new house, your family size has recently changed, or you’re just looking to upgrade your home, installing a new water heater is a good idea. Nothing is worse than having too many people and too little hot water. Before you start rationing your water supply, call Niebuhr Plumbing & Heating in La Crosse, WI. They can help you get the right water heater for your needs.

To get you started with selecting the right size of water heater, Niebuhr Plumbing & Heating offers the following tips:

• Time Of Day: First, you need to figure out your busiest time of day—does your family take showers in the morning or evening? Once you discover when you use the most hot water, you can go from there.
• Number Of People: Niebuhr Plumbing & Heating recommends allotting 12 gallons of hot water per person in your house. If you have a family of four who all take showers in the morning, that means your water heater needs to be able to handle, at the minimum, 48 gallons at one time. Unfortunately, they don't make residential water heaters larger than 50 gallons. Niebuhr Plumbing & Heating can combat this by installing a thermostatic mixing valve and turning up the water heater to a higher temperature. This gives you more hot water volume total, since cold water is being mixed with hotter water before it gets to the faucet!
• FHR Rating: Every water heater has a yellow EnergyGuide label with an FHR rating. You need to choose a tank with an FHR of at least 48 in order to get one big enough for your house.

In addition to these factors, the government mandated that after April 16th, 2015, all water heaters must be 3% to 30% more efficient than previous models depending on the volume. Although more efficient, these tanks are two inches wider, which creates new issues when your space is limited. Just one more inch of insulating foam translates to two inches total all around. Niebuhr Plumbing & Heating can help you figure out the size of your tank based on how much space you have. In some older homes, the water heater is hidden in a closet, so sizing can be an issue. Before you start worrying about if you have enough room, call the plumbing experts and get their opinion and help.

For all your emergency plumbing services needs call Niebuhr Plumbing & Heating today at (608) 782-1700. Visit them online for a full list of services.