The U.S. Department of Energy states that water heating accounts for around 16% of total annual energy expenditures. That is a large amount of energy spent on a single home appliance. So finding ways to reduce energy costs with your water heater could be very helpful. Fortunately, our team of specialists here at Clean Team Plumbing knows what it takes to save money. They will provide you with two simple tips and tricks you could use right now and save money tomorrow. The two simplest forms that could help you reduce your water heater energy use are the ability to reduce heat loss in your tank and taking steps to use less hot water. We offer support by writing down what you need to do to help make these changes effective.
Cut Down Wasted Heat in Your Water Heater:
Make sure to insulate your home’s water heater. If your home still has a tanked water heater, adding additional insulation would help reduce heat loss from within your unit. We recommend that you always follow the manufacturer’s insulation recommendations, especially for gas-fed water heaters.
You may want to insulate your hot water pipes. Naturally, suppose the water inside your hot water pipes remains warm after you run your tap. In that case, you will reduce your water waste and energy when restarting your hot water. Hot water pipes come insulated in most newer buildings, but that may not be the case in older homes. It could be challenging to get done alone, but it is worth investing in older homes.
Turn down your water heater’s temperature setting. By simply turning down your water heater from 140 degrees F to 120 degrees F, you could reduce your energy use by 6-10 percent.
You may also install “heat traps” or “anti-convection valves” on the hot and cold water connections to your water heater. Installing these could help prevent “thermosiphoning” of heat out of the water heater. Fortunately, some newer models already have these heat traps built-in.
Reduce Hot Water Use:
- Begin by switching out old showerheads with a newer, low-flow model. Expect to spend around $25 for a good model that can still provide a steady stream for showers but help reduce water waste to as little as 1.6 gallons per minute.
- Be sure to repair any leaky faucets or showerheads.
- Repair aerators on bathroom faucets with products that have flow rates of no more than one gallon per minute.
- We recommend using cold water to wash laundry or the cold-water rinse.
- Reduce your water waste when washing the dishes by scraping off food and not rinsing them beforehand. Most of today’s dishwashers will not require you to rinse off food. If you need to rinse, use cold water instead of hot water to reduce energy and water waste.
- If you are considering replacing any old home appliances, always check if the new model is certified by Energy Star.
Call Our Highly Rated Professionals For Help
Once you put some effort into reducing your hot water use and minimizing heat loss in your water heater, you will see savings on your energy bill. Over time, your savings will grow and prove that the time and effort were worth it. We know that making these changes can be challenging to do alone for even the most skilled homeowner handyman. That is why we recommend contacting a professional company like ours to get the job done quickly with reliable results that will provide energy efficiency for years to come. So if you need help completing these steps to improve your water heater energy efficiency, you can always call on our highly-rated company to get the job done, so call us today and save tomorrow.