FINALLY, there is another alternative to those electric heaters that run up your light bills. IGL - known provider of cooking gas - now distributes a compact, energy saving water heater that runs on the same cooking gas.

The unit, according to IGL marketing manager Shelley Sterling, is a tankless water heater that raises the temperature of your water instantly through its coils, and provides continuous hot water throughout your entire house.

"The unit set, which is about two feet high and eight inches broad as it is wide, heats five litres of water per minute," Sterling told Sunday Finance. "This means that two different hot water pipes in your house could be left running for weeks and hot water will still be running from them."

The unit sells for around $11,000, tax included, and can be wall mounted or placed in an appropriate location in your home in proximity to the gas cylinder to which it will be connected.
This price compares well with electric heaters that have tank reservoirs, which sell from $17,000 up; and with instantaneous shower heaters, which only provides hot water for one tap per installation and sells for around $7,000.

Solar heaters which require little, if any, maintenance and are considered a one-off investment, generally sell for upwards of $70,000.

"The hot water heater that we sell can lead to tremendous savings," said Sterling. "Its operating cost versus that of electrical equipment brings savings on your light bill up to 50 per cent."
Some of the savings in electricity costs is transferred to the cost of cooking gas but is not absorbed fully by it.

"The cost of a 100 pound cylinder refill is about $3,500 and normally would last a four-to-five person household four months," Sterling said.
"With the hot water heater running continuously a hundred pound cylinder would last for just over two and a half months."

Sunday Finance's own checks indicate that the average cost of electricity for running a regular 20-gallon, 1,200-watt electric water heater for a five person home is around $1,600 per month; the cost to run the gas heater is around $700 per month.

The heater, which was tested and approved by the Bureau of Standards, has a pilot that is lit by a 'Tiezo ignition switch' and a safety mechanism that cuts off the gas going to the heater if the pilot is extinguished.

"We tested several heaters at the Bureau of Standards, some of which were approved by them," Sterling added. "But this heater proved to be the best one."

The water heater is distributed by IGL and H&L True Value. It can be attached to any standard cooking gas cylinder easily.
If installed by IGL certified personnel, customers will get a two-year manufacturers warranty.

The cost of installation runs at about $3,000 and compares favourably to electrical installations, which carry additional costs for circuit breakers, wires and, possibly, electrical conduits.

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