Are you
overwhelmed by high energy bills? The reason could be your water heater
especially those who own the conventional storage type of water heater. Here is
the thing, you water heart is designed to constantly keep the water hot and
ready every time you need it. However
before using the water, your water will naturally cool. This forces the burner
to start the whole heating process again. This repetitive cycle will easily
lead to overuse of energy and eventually high bills. Here is what you can do to
make your heater more energy efficient.
Minimize Your
Use of Hot Water If You Can. One easy way to cut energy costs is to use
less hot water. It is estimated that a family of eight that showers after every
ten minutes a day will use about 700 gallons of water a week. Do the math for
one year and assume every one of them uses hot water. Well don’t go there.
Simply reduce on your use of hot water. Here are a few simple tips that you can
use.
·
Install low-flow showerheads.
·
Use hot water only when you have to.
·
Wash your laundry/ dishes when full to capacity.
You Can Turn
Down your Tank’s Thermostat. Most water heater come at 140 degrees. This
causes high risks of scalding. But study shows that for every 10 degrees a
thermostat is turned down one saves up to 5% of their energy bill. Lowering it to 120 degrees is therefore
highly recommended. At 120 degrees mineral build up will be highly reduced.
Here is how to turn your thermostat down.
·
Use a thermometer to measure the exact water
temp.
·
Keep it away from the heating source while
measuring.
·
If the temp is same as that on the thermostat
proceed.
·
Turn your thermostat down to 1200 –
give 2hours and confirm.
Take Time to
Drain the Sediments from Tank. Tanks will build up sediments and yours is
no exception. Sediment build up reduces efficiency. This makes saving energy a
huge challenge. So perform a frequent care and maintenance schedule as this
will help to keep the tank running efficiently and performing at its best. Do
this by periodically draining your tank. Here is how to drain your tank.
·
Set the burner to pilot if you are using gas
unit
·
Turn off the water and power that supplies the
unit.
·
Take a garden hose and connect to the spigot
(base of the tank).
·
Point the next end of the pipe to the floor
drain.
·
Turn the tanks spigot and release the tanks
pressure relief valve.
When your hot water sits for a long time without
use it naturally cools down. This process is referred to as standby heat
loss. Few people really know about it even though it is one of the major
causes of high energy bills in our homes. Use experts to fix this for you. I
have used the expert plumbing and drain cleaning in Jersey City NJ and they
did a great job for me.
