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Water Heating Tips
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Saving you a Few Dollars with Some Water Heating Tips
In a household, family expenses are increasing every now and then. Not to mention even sudden family expenses that may surprise you. It was said that your utility bill is mostly consists of the energy spending for heating water. It is actually the third largest expense in your household. And as the cost of fuel and electricity are skyrocketing while our economy remains the same, then it would just be right to save energy to save a few more dollars for other household expenses. It is still better to save some money for the other unexpected expenses for the family.
Here are some water heating tips to save your dollars.
1. You can install aerators in faucets so that you can you can reduce your consumption of hot water. You can also use low-flow showerheads to achieve the same result.
2. Make sure to repair any faucet or shower that is leaking. Take note that a drip of water per second can cost a dollar in a month. Leaky faucets will waste a lot of water over a short period.
3. If your water tank was manufactured before the year 1991 and you feel that the water heater becomes warm to your touch, you can use a blanket to cover it. Cover the tank but make sure not to cover the thermostat of the heater. You can consult your manufacturer’s suggestions for this.
4. Make sure that the thermostat is lowered to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Usually, water tanks are set to a higher temperature when you buy them. So make sure to adjust them to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the most comfortable temperature and at the same time mostly required temperature for many appliances.
5. Make sure that the two thermostats are at the same level. Electric water heaters have two thermostats for heating elements- the upper and lower. It is better that these two have the same level to prevent the other one for doing all the task and which would cause the wearing off of the thermostats in no time.
6. In buying new appliances such as dishwasher or clothes dryer or washer, choose those quality that are efficient and has water saving energy star so that you can reduce the need for hot water.
7. Have a heat trap installed on top of the water heater. This will prevent the hot water from rising up the pipes. This is important to reduce standby losses in your water heaters. Though new water heaters have already heat traps built in their units.
8. Every three months make it a point to drain a quart of water from your tank heaters. This will get rid of the sediments that may have formed on your tanks which makes heat transfer harder and which may render your heater as inefficient. Each tank type will have different methods of removing sediments in the unit. Check on the manufacturer’s recommendation on this.
9. It is better to take showers than having baths. Remember that baths can use fifteen to as much as 25 gallons of hot water. They use most of the hot water in the home. While a short bath will only consume about 5 gallons for a 5 to 10 minutes shower.
10. You may also consider investing in a gas tankless water heater. Studies show that you can save as much as 30% with energy than using a gas tank type heater.
11. In operating your garbage disposal, use cold water instead of hot. This is the recommendation of almost all disposal manufactures. Cold water also saves a lot of energy compared to hot water.
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