Your hot water heater is very necessary, especially with the weather getting chillier every day. Nothing is better than a hot shower on a cold day, but as we are sure you have noticed, your hot water bill can start to add up. On average, water heating accounts for about 13% of your home’s total energy cost. While this may not be a huge percentage, it is enough to make an impact on your wallet. Fortunately, there are a few ways that you can cut down this cost and save a few bucks!
Use Less Hot Water
This tip might sound easy to ignore, but using less hot water is actually easy to accomplish without changing any of your daily routine. Installing low flow shower heads ($10-$20 each) in your home can decrease your hot water consumption by over 30%. Also, break the habit of using the prewash setting on your dishwasher. Modern dishwashers can handle getting your dishes clean while skipping this setting.
Turn Down the Tank’s Thermostat
Turning down the thermostat on your water heater by about 10 degrees is an easy and effective way to cut down your water heating bill. In fact, it will cut off between 3 and 5%, which is not too shabby! Typically water heaters are preset at 140 degrees, but The Energy Department recommends setting it to 120. If the water in your shower gets scalding hot immediately, this is a sign that you can benefit and save some money from turning down your thermostat a bit.
Use Cold Water for Most Laundry Loads
Your laundry will be just fine if you use cold water on the majority of loads, especially on the rinse cycle. This will easily save you a few dollars.
We hope that these tips will help you save a few bucks on your energy bill. Also, if your hot water heater is acting up or not working properly, give us a call and we would be more than happy to resolve the problem!
