| |
|
|
|
|
| Home
>
Energy & Utilities
>
Topics: Electricity |
|
| ----------------------------------------- |
|
| A Timer for Your Water Heater & Other Energy Saving Tips |
Submitted by:
Rhonda 02/27/2009 2:44 PM
|
| |
Editor's Note: This tip was submitted in response to a TipHero comment on a Simple Tip to Save Money on Hot Water:
So then if you could put your water heater on a timer and turn it off from say 10PM to 6AM, then you would have 8 hours of energy savings. Has anyone tried this? Can it be done?
Posted by ThrifT on February 25, 2009 1:06 PM
To ThrifT:
YES absolutely this works (for electric hot water heaters), but think more aggressively than that. I have a timer on my water heater, and only run it for morning showers (5:00am-7:00am), and then from 6pm-7pm at night (for dishwasher).
You see, a regular hot water heater works like this....every time the water temp drops AT ALL below the set temp (even by one degree), the strips come on to heat it back to temp, so it's cycling on/off/on/off throughout the day, even though no one's using water. The timer means that the heater doesn't attempt to keep the temp at this set degree, UNLESS it's in the ON mode. When it's off, the water can drop 5 degrees if it wants, but the strip doesn't come on to maintain temp. They ALL come with an override switch, that you can turn on if you need water outside of your set times.
I worked with 2 different neighbors in the past 3 months, to set up the same system in their house. Originally they were concerned about having enough hot water, so set it to run except when asleep. I convinced them to set it back more (say 3 hours morning, 2 hours evening). One neighbor was amazed that one afternoon he came home for lunch, showered, and had PLENTY of hot water. His bill (with this, and a few other simple efforts) brought his bill down $80 first month!
Another neighbor, with 3 boys did the same thing (only about 4-5 hours a day with it on), changed 12 lightbulbs to CFL, and started turning off computer when not in use. The 1st PARTIAL month's bill (maybe 2 weeks worth) came down over $30.
There are tons of websites to help you reduce your energy usage. Consider this, on average, Heating & AC = 50% of bill, water heating - 15-20%, lighting - 5-15%, appliances - 10-20%?.
The absolute best things you can do for energy savings (including water) are:
- turn off stuff you're not using -lights, TVs, PlayStation, etc)- energy conservation is the easiest and the only FREE option
- Install a programmable thermostat and SET IT. No need to heat/cool a house when you're not even there, and the thermostat will heat/cool to your desired temp right before you get home. If you already do this, then adjust the temp 1-2 degrees from current (it will make a difference).
- Of course, I highly recommend the water heater timer (costs about $60-$70 at Lowes in my area), and set to run only a few hours/day. For those of you on natural gas, I don't think they have timers for you guys, because the pilot light is always running. But if that's not an option, then use LESS hot water - wash clothes in cold or warm, take shorter showers (baths use HUGE amounts of hot water), add aerators to your shower & faucets etc. I know one couple with teenage daughers who has a timer on the lights in the bathroom (like heat lamps in hotel showers). If the girls are in the shower past the pre-set time (maybe 10 minutes), the lights go out. (you can also use an obnoxious alarm that has to be cut off)
- If at all possible, replace/unplug old or underutilized appliances. If your refrigerator, dishwasher, etc is anywhere close to 10 years old, it's sucking energy. Replace with Energy Star versions. Also, that extra fridge in the basement used to cool beverages is a MAJOR energy hog. UNPLUG IT!
- replace those incandescents with CFLs. Prices now average about $2/bulb. LEDs are even better option, but still very pricey (but coming down fast). I'd recommend earthled.com if you're able to afford the LED option. Replace the lights you use the most - no need to do closets, attic, etc. Make sure you try out different bulbs before purchasing a lot to decide which works best for you. Incandescents have one color - yellow, CFLs have about 3 colors - yellow (soft white), whiter (cool white), and more like daylight (daylight). The daylight may have a slight bluish tint the first minute or two, and then puts off better quality light than the others (in my opinion).
- POOL OWNERS - if you own a pool, you do NOT need to run that pump as long as the pool guys say. It's likely using a LOT of energy. A study in FL indicated that pools could be maintained for 3-5 hrs/day (best to divide that across the day, instead of one long session).
My neighbor was told by his pool guy that his pump (aboveground, 32 foot round pool) costs him about $30/month running it 24/7...which was a HUGE lie. You can figure the approximate energy of any motor yourself (ie. refrigerator, dryer, etc - realizing that sometimes the numbers are bestcase scenario, and that efficiency will likely decrease over time).
Here's how to do it:
The pump was 115 volts, and 12 amps (labeled on the pump).
Volts times amps = watts, so this pump uses about 1,380 watts EVERY HOUR it's running.
Say, you run it 12 hours/day (as recommended), that's 16,560 watts/day, or 16.5 kW (divide by 1,000)every day.
At 10 cents/kw, it costs you $1.66/day, or about $50/month to run it 12 hours/day, or about $100/month to run it 24/7.
Hope this helps. This is just the tip of the iceberg. There's SO many ways to cut energy bills, but these tend to give the biggest bang for your buck. |
|
---
sponsored: Find Money Budgeting Tips.
|
|
---
Tip Hero serves up new money-saving tips daily.
Get free updates via Email , RSS or Twitter.
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
