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1. If you are setting a new Electric Water Heater, set it on at least 1 inch thick Styrofoam or a couple of ½“ pieces of energy board. This has been proven to prevent water heater convection from dissipating through basement or slab concrete floors. You can also build an insulated box to sit the Water Heater on to get it off direct contact with the floor. Which ever way you decide to go will save you about 2-5% in energy cost.
2. With Gas or Electric Water Heaters you can also wrap about 4 feet of the inlet and outlet pipes to prevent heat dissipating through the water lines. This will happen with almost all Water Heaters because of the heat migrating back through the water lines and then the air passing across the lines causing a cooling effect. The Water Heater T-Stat feels the need to replace the heat loss and turns the Heater on to accommodate. Thus higher uses of energy occur. Savings can vary here, but this contractor has seen from 5-7% savings. The cost for the wrap is very minimal and can be purchased at most local hardware stores. Just ask for foam pipe wrap in the pipe dimension needed.
3. Water Heater Jackets have been around for a long time and have been very effective in conserving energy for heating water. They are still readily available through most local hardware stores. Energy Savings vary from 5-7%.
4. Another lesser known but larger savings tip is to insulate the band boards on homes with basements and crawlspaces. This has become common practice on the more modern homes but there are still a lot of older homes (Pre 1980’s) that do not have these boards insulated. (The Band Board is the Board connecting the end of the floor joist forming the outer band of the floor construction on homes built over Basements and Crawlspaces, and some multi-story applications). Think about the dimensions of the band board which is usually no more than 2 inches thick and generally from 8-12 inches tall. Usually some type of siding is nailed to these or brick veneer is placed on the outside and this is all that protects this weak spot from the weather elements. As the weather (cold for instance) passes through the 2 inch thick board and migrates to the interior of the home, because of the warming effect, a turbulence is felt coming from the floor area of the home. This has been the cause of discomfort in a lot of these old homes as the owner sits down in the easy chair to enjoy the evening paper but instead, feels a draft across their feet and legs. This contractor has found that just a simple R-11 or R-13 insulating factor will eliminate this draft almost completely. On crawlspace homes it is best to insulate the band boards, as well as, the floor inward at least 4 feet to give that warm floor effect. Savings here have been as high as 10% off energy bills.
You have been reading, “Home Energy Savings TIPS", an Article by Fonda Henson of Missouri, retired home building contractor with over 40 years experience in Residential Home building, HVAC, Electrical, Plumbing and Concrete work. Fonda was Certified in 2005 as an Indoor Air Quality Specialist with the RGF Environment Group in Advanced Oxidation Technology.
Fonda will be sharing more Tips on how to save on your energy bills in upcoming articles, titled “Home Energy Savings TIPS". Look for them here. Contact information-
» left by JL from US (1 year 231 days ago.)
Thanks for the tips. We will soon have a new water heater and now I know how to take care of it. What about draining it periodically? Is that necessary to reduce sediment? Respond to this comment
» left by Fonda Henson(22) (1 year 230 days ago.)
JL,
Yes, periodically draining your Water Heater may help keep down sediments, but use every precaution in doing so. It may be more advantageous to treat the water before it enters the Heater with some sort of water treatment unit, such as a water softner or filter. I will cover that in my next writting.
Thanks for your comments and enjoy the articles.
Fonda Respond to this comment
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Article added to SearchWarp.com on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 View other articles written by Fonda Henson(22)
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