While the basic home water and space heating technologies have been around for decades, we are seeing constant improvements in efficiency and emissions as well as the appearance of the appliances themselves.

Making the right choice in water heaters for example is very important. What are other people using? Natural gas fuels more than half of all water heaters and electricity heats most of the remainder. A small percentage of water heaters burn propane, oil, or kerosene. And a few use wood heat or solar collectors.

Natural gas is now available in many communities, so it is a logical good choice for heating water as long as you can vent the products of combustion.  Gas is cheaper and faster at heating a tankful of water than electricity. Propane, kerosene and oil are also cheaper and faster than electricity but they they must be delivered (not piped) to the house. Be sure to completely understand the pricing structure (for the fuel and the transport) before signing a contract!