can you save money by turning off your water heater during the day?
as the economy continues to slow i am sure like me, many Americans are looking for creative ways to reduce expenses. one of our largest household expenses is the electric bill. it ranges in the dead of florida summer from $300-$400 and in the “winter” from $200-$300. a neighbor of mine said he turns off his water heater when its not in use. he is a retired single person and has less demand than my family. my question is, has anyone ever done that. turn off the water heater during the day when no one is home and then turn it on when everyone gets home from school and work? any savings? too much trouble? did it work? are there tricks to it?
It’s an alright idea if you don’t mind your hot water being colder then you are used to but also when you turn it back on it will use electricity to the the water back up to the original temperature. The easier way is to just turn down the temp. If you go on vacation it is a good idea to turn it off.
If your water heater is rather new, which means well insulated, then probably not. If older, an inexpensive water heater blanket would probably be much easier.
But, while I have turned it off for long vacations, I haven’t done it for short periods of time.
A drawback is how long it will take for the heater to get the water back to the temperature you want for a shower or washing dishes.
You would probably save more money by having the water temperature set lower then the default setting. Typically 120 is sufficient. Over 125, and you can risk scalding a child.
US Department of Energy suggestion is to turn it off if you are going to be gone for more then three days. During the day is probably not a question that was asked.
Turning the thermostat down during the times you are away, and overnight will definitely save you money. However, if you have a heat pump, then using a special set back thermostat for your system is the only way to go. Otherwise, if the temperature drops more then two degrees, and you ramp it up, you use the backup heating elements, and not the heat pump feature. Heat pump thermostats temper the heat rise in <2 degree increments, to not trip the back up heat. So it may take longer, but it is more energy efficient.
So with heat pump thermostats, if you want the regular temperature at 5 PM, it may start to ramp up the temperature in small increments at 3 PM, so it is at the temperature you desire at 5 PM.
you be better off replace it with tankless water heater, it will save you money in the long run. You can get a good one install for under $1000. Hope this help
A modern 80 gal tank will hold (most of) it’s temperature all day if installed properly in a good location. The newer tanks almost negate the need to heat all day as they are very well insulated.
If you have a very old inefficient tank, then yes, it will save you money. But buy an insulating jacket or replace with a new heater. Tankless definately is most efficient, but you must have gas on the house. Electric on demand systems are a nightmare. Do you really want to come home to cold water every day?
You might, but your water heater tank will almost certainly fail sooner than it would otherwise due to repeated daily expansion and contractions that are larger than the tank would normally experience if it were not making such big temperature excursions.
You can but it’s a pain and you won’t save much. However turning the temperature down will save a considerable amount. Set it to the temp. you like to shower at using only the hot water. The rate of heat loss is proportional to the temperature difference inside to outside the heater.
Yes. Most water heaters will produce a full tank of hot water in about 30 minutes (recovery time). So, yes, you’ll save electricity. How much would have to be measured. Most water heaters have two 5000 watt heaters, but they only run one at a time. Mine runs 17 amps max. So if you are not going to be using hot water during the day (while at work) and not using any during the night (while sleeping), you’ll save more money. There will be enough residual hot water during the night to wash your hands if needed. i put a timer on my water heater and it tuns on at 5:00 am, off at 8:00 am, then on at 4:00 pm then off again at 9:00 pm. These timers can be had at HD or Lowe’s for about $30 and are easy to install.
Your biggest expense is AC during those summer months.
you can go to Lowe’s or home depot and buy an intermatic double pole 30 amp timer and install it on the heater. i have one on mine and it comes on at 5.30 every evening and stays on for 30 minutes or so. i am single and don’t need much hot water and take a shower every evening and have never had a problem with hot water, morning or night. you can set it to cycle on and off at different times by adding trippers if you need to. the timer is easy to install. it says “line in” hook up the two wires coming to the heater. the “load out” is the two wires going to the heater. i don’t have a jacket on my heater and it is outside in the utility room but always has plenty of hot water. i usually wash clothes in cold water but you can just flip the switch and turn on the heater if you like. most water heaters only need 30 minutes or less to fully charge so keep that in mind when setting it up. go price a timer and see if this type of situation fits your needs.