Duke Energy Water Heaters

[Giordano Thibault]

Customersreceive up to 20 energy-saving improvements, including HVAC filters, water heater tank wraps and insulation for water pipes. They will also learn how daily activities, habits and other factors can increase their electric use and raise their energy bills. The program can help customers save up to $200 a year in energy costs.

The Duke Energy Neighborhood Energy Saver program kickoff will take place on Tuesday, Jan. 12 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Bithlo Community Center, 18501 Washington Ave., and on Jan. 26 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the East Orange Community Center at 12050 E. Colonial Dr., Orlando.

The first step: Start with a free home energy audit. Duke Energy Home Energy House Call is available to customers in Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina and South Carolina. Duke Energy customers in Florida can sign up for a free Home Energy Check.

Robert Lewis reached out to the Duke Energy program after opening an unusually high utility bill. An energy advisor inspected his three-bedroom home in southern Indiana, pointing out ways he could improve his energy efficiency.

A spokesperson for ENERGY STAR, a federal program to promote energy efficiency, said home energy assessments, performed by an expert, can guide homeowners to the improvements that are most needed and will save them the most money.

Here are the estimated savings, based on national averages, for the top energy-efficient upgrades. All information is from ENERGY STAR. Many of the upgrades qualify for tax rebates under the Inflation Reduction Act.

The energy savings from replacing doors and windows depends on a few factors, including the type and number of windows being replaced and their location. Upgrading to ENERGY STAR certified windows should help save 6%-13% on annual energy bills. ENERGY STAR said these tend to be the most accessible areas and easy for a do-it-yourselfer. While drafts may be uncomfortable, they don't have much affect on energy use. In addition to applying weatherstripping, plastic film can be placed over glass windows.

A Duke Energy home energy advisor can install a smart thermostat during an assessment. The unit is available at a discounted price, and the installation is free. The advisor will also show the homeowner how to use it. Installing an ENERGY STAR certified smart thermostat can cut heating and cooling bills by more than 8% annually and save about $50 a year in energy costs. Savings can be higher for households with higher bills. Make sure the thermostat you buy is compitable with your HVAC system.

An ENERGY STAR certified dishwasher is about 12% more energy efficient and 30% more water efficient than standard models. An upgraded dishwasher would cost about $35 annually to run and will save an estimated 3,800 gallons of water over the lifetime of the appliance.

Electric clothes dryers that are certified by ENERGY STAR are on average about 20% more energy efficient than standard clothes dryers. They could save about 1,900 kWh of electricity and about $210 in energy bills over the lifetime of the product.

Rub a dub dub, spend as much time as you want to in the tub! We are always trying to find deals to help our friends and clients and when we saw that you could get a $350 rebate from Duke Energy when you upgrade your water heater, we had to spread the word.

Did you know that water heaters are the second-highest source of energy usage in most homes? They typically account for about 15 to 25% of your monthly energy bill. Heat pump water heaters can help you save energy and money every day, plus you can get a $350 rebate from Duke Energy Center when you install an ENERGY STAR model.

Heat Pump Water Heaters have advanced technology that absorbs heat from the air and transfers it into the water in the storage tank. This makes them two to three times more energy-efficient than conventional water heaters and more environmentally friendly. Bonus: They can lower your water heating cost by up to 50%.

Duke Energy makes it easy to make upgrades to your home to help you live better. Contact Find It Duke and get connected to prescreened industry-certified home improvement professionals in your area. You will receive a unique referral ID that you will share with the participating Smart $aver contractor that you choose. Learn more about this special offer and who qualifies at Duke-Energy.com.

Hillman Real Estate Group at eXp Realty, founded by real estate industry veteran Rene Hillman, is a consistent top brokerage of North Carolina real estate advisors, headquartered in Raleigh. Serving sellers, buyers, and investors throughout the Greater Triangle area, our boutique team includes dedicated Listing, Buyer, and Client Care Specialists, ensuring that all clients have timely access to our entire team of experienced professionals to ensure their real estate goals are met successfully.

The product of workshops with a range of stakeholders, the Duke program is designed to help customers overcome a key hurdle to upgrading to more efficient equipment: cash. Though a new water heater or heat pump can significantly cut energy use, it can take years for lower electric bills to cancel out the upfront cost of a more efficient appliance.

Regulators also greenlit an energy-saving pilot for newly constructed apartment units. Under the five-year trial program, developers get a rebate from Duke for installing energy-saving measures. Apartment-dwellers then pay the company back through a monthly fee.

NCWaterHeaters provides expert diagnostic testing, installation, maintenance and replacement services for point-of-use or large commercial water heaters with quality brands like Rheem, Navian, G.E., Rinnai and A.O. Smith. NC Water Heaters is a certified Duke Energy HEIP contractor.

We provide expert services throughout the greater Triangle-area, including Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary, Wake, Durham and Orange counties and surrounding areas through this website, NCWaterHeaters.com.

They say that regular maintenance will extend the life of your water heater, although we never had to do anything to ours. One of them just busted at the seam. The life expectancy of a tank is 8-12 years and ours was 16, it was just a matter of time before I would be having to suck up water from the storage room carpet.

My hubby is pretty handy and was able to install the unit in a couple of hours. We already had dedicated electrical breakers as this requires 3 x 40 amps at 240 volts. You may also need to work with a plumber and electrician to install.

I hope the tankless units have improved. My parents had one, they became so frustrated with it taking so long to heat water for showers, they went back to the old tank version. Anxious for your review!

There is no difference in the amount of time it takes for water to get a fixture wether tankless or tank type. You have to displace the existing cold water in the line with hot. When building a house locate the water heater what ever type in a central location to minimize distance for delivery which shortens waiting time and wasted water. You can also have a looped return line for continuous hot water if plumbed when house is built. It is of course energy wasteful but water conscious.

The Smart $aver program offers incentives for residential customers to increase their energy efficiency. Incentives are provided for qualifying heating and cooling equipment installation and service, attic insulation and attic air sealing, duct sealing, heat pump water heater, and pool pump. Duke Energy Carolinas electric residential retail customers residing in a single-family home, condominium, duplex, townhome, or mobile home are eligible for listed incentives, whereas specific eligibility requirements vary with technology. All incentives are paid after completion of the services.

CHARLOTEE, NORTH CAROLINA - Duke Energy Corp., the power company that lights your home, also wants to help with bursting pipes, busted water heaters and other home repairs - all for a monthly fee tacked onto your electric bill.

An advertising mailer, dated Nov. 16, comes as a signed letter from Ellen Ruff, president of Duke Energy Carolinas.In the pitch, she offers a toll-free number to access repairmen for emergencies to fix or replace faulty home wiring, failed water pipes and broken water heaters. The home wiring plan covers simple repairs, such as light switches and electrical outlets that stop working.Customers can choose to pay monthly fees up to $10.90 for various levels of coverage. The average power bill in the Carolinas is roughly $80. The company said 20,700 residential customers in the Carolinas are signed up for the plan, which contracts with an outside vendor that dispatches repairmen any hour of the day.The Duke plan has some stipulations: Coverage begins 31 days after it is purchased and only applies to normal wear and tear of the equipment covered. And acts of God, such as power outages that result in frozen pipes that burst, are not covered. Neither is damage from failed equipment, such as flooding from a failed pipe or fire from faulty wiring.The service receives rave reviews from customers who have used it and is a "natural extension" of providing electric power to homes, said Paige Sheehan, a spokeswoman for the utility. The program started in the summer of 2004, and is now available to all residential Duke customers in the Carolinas.During the first six months of this year, the company took 1,700 calls under the program and from 80 percent and 90 percent of the problems were covered under the plan, according to Duke survey data, Sheehan said.It's selling peace of mind, Sheehan said. But is it worth it?"You ask the question: How many times do your pipes burst in the middle of the night?" said Mark Cooper, director of research with the Consumer Federation of America. "The consumer has to really evaluate spending between $47 and $130 a year against the possibility that something will happen."Lyle Walter, general manager of Adams Plumbing at 211 Main St. in Pineville, said some plumbing companies sell their own service agreements that cover routine once-a-year maintenance or for running repairs, like having a lawyer on retainer. But those plans don't cover the outright replacement of water heaters.He said choosing to buy the Duke coverage is just a matter of personal preference and comfort.Walter said that Adams Plumbing sells a $60-a-year service for yearly maintenance checks of water pressure and other heater operations. It keeps the water heater healthy, he said.For an emergency, a typical service call is free for assessing problems and giving estimates. New water heater installation is about $400, and a 30- to 52-gallon heater, bought through Adams, runs from $250 to $400, depending on the model and if it's electric or gas, he said. The total bill might run to $800, he said.Unlike traditional insurance, the Duke plan is unregulated. The utility says it's akin to an extended warranty or extra service plan purchased with an appliance.Consumer Reports magazine has launched a public campaign advising consumers not to purchase extended warranties. The magazine, published by the nonprofit consumer advocacy group Consumers Union, says extended warranties and service plans are almost always a waste of money.Cooper said that customers might already have coverage from existing warranties and even from homeowners' insurance.The N.C. Department of Insurance doesn't regulate the service plans because they are not traditional insurance, said Kristin Milam, assistant public information officer for the state agency. The agency has not received complaints about the Duke plan, she said.The N.C. Attorney General's Office, which has a consumer protection hotline, also has not received any complaints, a spokeswoman said.It might seem an odd business for an electric utility, but the specialized industry has grown up around the marketing idea that utilities have access to millions of customers that can be pitched extra services.Utility Partners of America, based in Greenville, S.C., is the vendor for Duke, and the companies split the monthly fees.There isn't a charge to Duke for the service call or replacement parts and appliances. Neither would discuss revenues or the percentage split.Mark Cale, chief executive of utility partners, said the plan works for people without cash on hand when their water heater breaks or they need other emergency repairs. For people with healthier incomes, his company sells the service as a convenience, he said."Everybody's water heater is going to go bad; it's not a matter of if, but when," he said.Duke's Home Repair Plan- Water heater coverage: $3.95 a month.- Home wiring coverage: $4.95.- Coverage against failing pipes, which must be bought along with one of the other plans: adds another $2.- There is no deductible or extra charges.

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