Hot water is considered a necessity we all cannot live without. Think of taking a shower on a very cold and misty morning, or taking the grease off from the dinner plates with cold running water in the evening. But did you know that home water heating systems are one of the biggest contributors to more wasted energy and carbon emissions that damage the ozone layer? Out of the 107 million households in the United States, majority of them (or about 99 million families) use electricity produced from burning oil and natural gas, an inefficient method that leads to lesser savings on electricity and home thermal energy. That is approximately one-tenths of the energy consumption in the entire United States.
But we don't have to consider our water heaters so antagonistic on the environment. They are, after all, the mechanisms that allow us to take our soothing showers everyday. It is our usage practices and idiosyncrasies that prevent us from or allow us to reduce the electric consumption of our water heating systems and save home energy. The following methods are simple enough measures we can take to reduce the load on our water heaters and generate savings in terms of energy usage and money spent on utility bills:
1. Conserve water. The first and foremost thing you can do is the simplest: stop using water you do not need. Cutting down on your use of water is the primary solution to cut down on the use of heat to warm up your water, especially if you do not have the budget for a more energy-efficient yet more expensive water heating system. This is also helpful when it comes to conserving the Earth's natural reservoir of water, which is dwindling every second a person takes a shower. In fact, a small American family of four members showers with as much amount of water in a week as when one person drinks water in three years. That's about 700 gallons every week! There are water-saving showerheads and faucet aerators that you can install to cut down your usage of hot water in half. These little devices can be a tremendous help to saving water and home thermal energy.
2. Use an on-demand tankless water heater. It is easier to save home energy when water is heated only when it is needed because it eliminates the standby losses, which is about 10 to 15 percent of all thermal energy used to heat the water, that are typical in a water heater that uses a storage tank. A tankless water heater can supply as much as 200 gallons every hour and will stop burning gas when you find no need for hot water anymore. You should be careful to practice other efficient measures such as using low-flow faucets and showerheads and short water lines to maximize the use of a tankless water heater.
3. Insulate your water heater. If you already have a conventional storage-type water heating system but would still want to save home energy, an easy way to do it is to cover it with a water heater blanket/jacket to insulate the system and prevent heat loss. An inexpensive but completely water heater blanket can be purchased from one of the home improvement stores in your area for around $10 per yard. It is usually made of hypoallergenic materials (no fiberglass) and can save as much as 40 percent of the amount that is usually lost without insulation. An enthusiastic do-it-yourselfer can even make the insulation material for their water heating system with the use of fiberglass insulation covered with papered on one side.
4. Turn the settings to the lowest possible temperature. You can save more home thermal energy by experimenting with how hot or warm you want your water to be. Most conventional water heating systems come with a default setting of 140 degrees Fahrenheit, which is, most of the time too warm for most people. At 120 degrees Fahrenheit, you can still take a comfortable shower without pressuring the water heater to use up too much electric energy. Experts say that for each 10 percent you go down on the water heater, you save as much as 3 to 5 percent of all your water heating costs.
But we don't have to consider our water heaters so antagonistic on the environment. They are, after all, the mechanisms that allow us to take our soothing showers everyday. It is our usage practices and idiosyncrasies that prevent us from or allow us to reduce the electric consumption of our water heating systems and save home energy. The following methods are simple enough measures we can take to reduce the load on our water heaters and generate savings in terms of energy usage and money spent on utility bills:
1. Conserve water. The first and foremost thing you can do is the simplest: stop using water you do not need. Cutting down on your use of water is the primary solution to cut down on the use of heat to warm up your water, especially if you do not have the budget for a more energy-efficient yet more expensive water heating system. This is also helpful when it comes to conserving the Earth's natural reservoir of water, which is dwindling every second a person takes a shower. In fact, a small American family of four members showers with as much amount of water in a week as when one person drinks water in three years. That's about 700 gallons every week! There are water-saving showerheads and faucet aerators that you can install to cut down your usage of hot water in half. These little devices can be a tremendous help to saving water and home thermal energy.
2. Use an on-demand tankless water heater. It is easier to save home energy when water is heated only when it is needed because it eliminates the standby losses, which is about 10 to 15 percent of all thermal energy used to heat the water, that are typical in a water heater that uses a storage tank. A tankless water heater can supply as much as 200 gallons every hour and will stop burning gas when you find no need for hot water anymore. You should be careful to practice other efficient measures such as using low-flow faucets and showerheads and short water lines to maximize the use of a tankless water heater.
3. Insulate your water heater. If you already have a conventional storage-type water heating system but would still want to save home energy, an easy way to do it is to cover it with a water heater blanket/jacket to insulate the system and prevent heat loss. An inexpensive but completely water heater blanket can be purchased from one of the home improvement stores in your area for around $10 per yard. It is usually made of hypoallergenic materials (no fiberglass) and can save as much as 40 percent of the amount that is usually lost without insulation. An enthusiastic do-it-yourselfer can even make the insulation material for their water heating system with the use of fiberglass insulation covered with papered on one side.
4. Turn the settings to the lowest possible temperature. You can save more home thermal energy by experimenting with how hot or warm you want your water to be. Most conventional water heating systems come with a default setting of 140 degrees Fahrenheit, which is, most of the time too warm for most people. At 120 degrees Fahrenheit, you can still take a comfortable shower without pressuring the water heater to use up too much electric energy. Experts say that for each 10 percent you go down on the water heater, you save as much as 3 to 5 percent of all your water heating costs.
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