Household hot water systems account for a quarter of a household’s power load. Finding ways to save on the cost of producing hot water, and reduce emissions, has been the focus of much recent research.
But it’s not just what we heat our water with, but when. Energy experts argue we should shift our hot water heating to the middle of the day when there is abundant solar going into the system. Not only will this reduce our emissions, it could save billions of dollars.
Recent research shows there is a $6.7 billion missed opportunity if newly electrified hot water systems aren’t used as a flexible resource.
Dr Gabrielle Kuiper is a specialist in distributed energy resources, and a guest contributor to IEEFA, the Institute for energy economics and financial analysis, who argues we have to get smarter about hot water.
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