Water Heaters: 3 Tips That Can Save Your Energy

It is a well known fact that traditional water heaters are some of the biggest energy hogs in your house. Unfortunately, they are a necessity if you ever want a hot shower, or if you want to do laundry or run you dishwasher. While tankless varieties are gaining in popularity, they have their own pros and cons that you'll need to consider. Besides, you may be nowhere near ready to trade in your old device. And there may be no need to. There are several things any homeowner can do to save on energy costs as it pertains to their hot water needs.

Use a Blanket

If you're freezing in the middle of the night, what do you reach for? A blanket, most likely. Well, the same principal happens to apply to water heaters. It may feel silly to wrap an appliance up in a blanket, but they sell materials made specifically for this cause. A blanket capable of fiberglass insulation has been known to cut heat loss by up to 40%. If you don't think this can translate into big savings on your electric bill, you need to try it for yourself. One caveat, however: if your appliance already comes with foam insulation, a blanket isn't going to increase your abilities to cut heat loss. Check first before moving forward.

Use Less

It's obvious, but there really is no better way to make sure your energy bills come down than to cut down on your use of it. Water heaters keep a certain amount of backup waiting for when you need to use it (which is the primary benefit of switching to a tankless appliance), but it will have to replenish this backup far less often if you aren't using it as much. Installing lower flow shower heads, using an economy setting on your dishwasher, and just generally being conscious of how much you use can make a substantial difference in your expenditure.

Turn Down The Temperature

Many water heaters are installed with factory settings, which are often high. You can get away with turning the thermostat setting to about 120 degrees before you start running into trouble and inviting the growth of bacteria. If your appliance is set to 150, you can save up to 15% by turning it down to 120. If you don't have a temperature setting on the appliance, you can adjust it through the low/medium/high gauge and then measure the temperature with a thermometer the next day by running water through the sink.