In cold countries, heated water supply is an essential need for shower, washing dishes, and more. The cry on global warming calls for a check on which is a better home water heating technology?

In the US here are the numbers when it comes to water heating:

Water heating can account for 14% to 25% of the energy consumed in your home. You can reduce your monthly water heating bills by selecting the appropriate water heater for your home or pool and by using some energy-efficient water heating strategies. - US DOE, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Since, there’s a broad application of water heating at home; I’ll just focus for example on shower water heating. People would like to have space savings and cost savings. Having this in mind people have a choice between electric shower water heaters or propane gas tankless water heaters. Both water heaters are space saving, but the cost and environmental aspects could be considered.

In terms of cost, propane which is $1.063/gallon and electricity price of $0.0835/KWH shows clearly that per dollar spent propane gives more savings. Savings in electricity also translate to less pollution generated from fossil-fueled power plants.

Propane fueled tankless water heaters could be considered as a viable home water heating supply alternative with ecological benefits.