The Water Heater - What to Do to Save Home Thermal Energy

Hot water is considered a necessity we all cannotthermal energy.
live without. Think of taking a shower on a very2. Use an on-demand tankless water heater. It is
cold and misty morning, or taking the grease offeasier to save home energy when water is
from the dinner plates with cold running water inheated only when it is needed because it
the evening. But did you know that home watereliminates the standby losses, which is about 10 to
heating systems are one of the biggest15 percent of all thermal energy used to heat the
contributors to more wasted energy and carbonwater, that are typical in a water heater that
emissions that damage the ozone layer?uses a storage tank. A tankless water heater can
Out of the 107 million households in the Unitedsupply as much as 200 gallons every hour and will
States, majority of them (or about 99 millionstop burning gas when you find no need for hot
families) use electricity produced from burning oilwater anymore. You should be careful to practice
and natural gas, an inefficient method that leadsother efficient measures such as using low-flow
to lesser savings on electricity and home thermalfaucets and showerheads and short water lines to
energy. That is approximately one-tenths of themaximize the use of a tankless water heater.
energy consumption in the entire United States.3. Insulate your water heater. If you already have
But we don't have to consider our water heatersa conventional storage-type water heating
so antagonistic on the environment. They are,system but would still want to save home
after all, the mechanisms that allow us to takeenergy, an easy way to do it is to cover it with a
our soothing showers everyday. It is our usagewater heater blanket/jacket to insulate the
practices and idiosyncrasies that prevent us fromsystem and prevent heat loss. An inexpensive but
or allow us to reduce the electric consumption ofcompletely water heater blanket can be
our water heating systems and save homepurchased from one of the home improvement
energy. The following methods are simple enoughstores in your area for around $10 per yard. It is
measures we can take to reduce the load on ourusually made of hypoallergenic materials (no
water heaters and generate savings in terms offiberglass) and can save as much as 40 percent
energy usage and money spent on utility bills:of the amount that is usually lost without
1. Conserve water. The first and foremost thinginsulation. An enthusiastic do-it-yourselfer can even
you can do is the simplest: stop using water youmake the insulation material for their water
do not need. Cutting down on your use of waterheating system with the use of fiberglass
is the primary solution to cut down on the use ofinsulation covered with papered on one side.
heat to warm up your water, especially if you do4. Turn the settings to the lowest possible
not have the budget for a more energy-efficienttemperature. You can save more home thermal
yet more expensive water heating system. Thisenergy by experimenting with how hot or warm
is also helpful when it comes to conserving theyou want your water to be. Most conventional
Earth's natural reservoir of water, which iswater heating systems come with a default
dwindling every second a person takes a shower.setting of 140 degrees Fahrenheit, which is, most
In fact, a small American family of four membersof the time too warm for most people. At 120
showers with as much amount of water in adegrees Fahrenheit, you can still take a
week as when one person drinks water in threecomfortable shower without pressuring the water
years. That's about 700 gallons every week!heater to use up too much electric energy.
There are water-saving showerheads and faucetExperts say that for each 10 percent you go
aerators that you can install to cut down yourdown on the water heater, you save as much as
usage of hot water in half. These little devices can3 to 5 percent of all your water heating costs.
be a tremendous help to saving water and home