Ways to reduce your water heater’s energy consumption
Water heating is one of the most expensive parts of your energy bill, but unfortunately, your electric company probably hasn’t opted to tell you this. By reducing your hot water usage, you not only lower your energy bill, but you also lower your water bill and ultimately help out the environment. These are five ways you can reduce your water heater’s energy consumption.
Use Less Water in the Washer
To begin seeing noticeable savings, start paying attention to how much water you’re using with each load of laundry. Rather than turning the appliance on with the default setting, use the dials or buttons to specify the size of the load, how much water to use, and what type of cycle to run.
Use Cold Water for Clothes
Using cold water for laundry doesn’t mean your clothes will come out any less clean once the cycle finishes. However, you will find that you can save up to 100kWh on each energy bill by using this tip. This amounts to almost $50 per year.
Decrease the Water Heater Temperature
Most water heaters come with default thermostat settings at 140 degrees. Not only is this too much, but it can also scald in some cases. Lower the thermostat to 120 degrees. If your dishwasher or clothes washer models are older, check with their manuals to ensure that they will be able to operate with water at 120 degrees. Some models require the temperature to be hotter.
Only Run Full Dishwasher Loads
There’s nothing wrong with loading your dishwasher over time rather than all at once. If you don’t have a full load once you’re finished loading dishes, hold off actually running the machine until you have more dirty dishes to load. Additionally, it helps to skip out on the pre-rinse altogether and go with the economy or energy savings cycle. Pairing this tip with the other can help you reap some serious savings in the long run.
Spend Less Time in the Shower
Lastly, begin moderating how much time you spend while taking showers. How many times have you noticed yourself standing around and wasting time while showering? It’s easy to do when you have a lot on your mind or you’re still not fully awake in the morning. Reducing how long you shower by even just a small amount can bring you significant savings on water heating.
Is the water heater in your Cedar Falls home in need of maintenance? Call Dalton Plumbing, Heating & Cooling Inc. at (319) 266-3513 and schedule a service call today!