You use hot water every day to wash your clothes, your dishes, and yourself – so it’s no wonder that your water heater guzzles up to 30 percent of the energy used in your home each month.
If you want to cut that number down, there are four ways to do it:
1. Use less hot water – Reduce how often, and for how long, you use hot water appliances. The gallons can add up quickly – for a typical session, you’ll use:
2. Insulate pipes and your water heater tank – Insulate the first six feet or so of the hot and cold water pipes connected to the water heater, where much of the heat is lost in transfer. Insulating your water heater’s storage tank will prevent it from unnecessarily having to reheat standing water.
3. Adjust the water heater’s thermostat – Reduce your water heater’s thermostat to 120°F rather than the 130° or higher default used by some manufacturers; 120° is plenty for most applications.
4. Consider installing a tankless water heater – A new energy-efficient condensing tankless water heater will give you unlimited hot water while cutting your bills by as much as 50 percent. The new system will pay for itself in a several years depending on usage.
Contact Oehlert Brothers today to learn more about water heater options, or to get a FREE Estimate on a water heater upgrade for your Pennsylvania home!