Save $, Lower The Temp. On Your Water Heater
Posted by Theresa, Apple FCU
A great way to save money on your gas bill is to adjust the temperature on your water heater. (Yes I know we all love basking in hot showers during winter months, but lowering the temperature will save you some cash).
On mine there are three settings (hot, warm and vacation). Currently in my house we have it set to warm (a few notches closer to hot than to the exact middle of warm).
During the summer months and fall months our gas bill was nothing too outrageous. But then winter came…
After receiving our first gas bill ($$$) the first thing I did was check the temperature on the water heater. I hadn’t thought to look at it when we first moved in, as our gas bill for summer and fall were minimal.
To my astonishment the water heater was set to HOT! After getting over the initial shock, I turned it down to warm (a few notches closer to vacation than to the exact middle of warm).
The next day, let’s just say my roommates weren’t the happiest when they went to take their morning shower. I shared with them the change I made to the temperature our water heater was set to. We all agreed to not set it to hot, but we did turn it a few notches warmer.
Since lowering the temperature on our water heater we have seen costs go down for our gas bill every month.
According to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (www.aceee.org) lowering your water heater by 10 degrees (a notch or so on your temperature gauge) will save you 3-5% on your water heating costs.
Do you know what the temperature on your gas water heater is?
Check it out today, it may save you a couple bucks.
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18 comments on “Save $, Lower The Temp. On Your Water Heater”
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My water heater doesn’t have a temperature setting at all, yet you fail to address this.
A more useful tip to include would be to limit hot water use during the coldest times of day/night, but in all practicality people do want warm morning showers.
So another tip would be to use most of your hot water at one point of the day so that the water heater doesn’t have to keep turning on. Once its already ‘active’ then you can get a lot of hot/warm water and take care of all your activities that require hot/warm water.
Naturally, using hot/warm water at nighttime will have the highest cost depending on how your bill is calculated with peak/off-peak times or if its just one flat rate all the time.
A bit more of an expensive solution for those who own their own homes would be to have a large external diesel electric generator that you can run with biodiesel that you make yourself from the grease/fats of your local fast food restaurants. Of course you gotta do some research and invest a bit of money into such an endeavor, but the end result is minimal or no electric bills.
it’s a great idea that you wouldn’t think of normally when you go through a list of things you can do to save some money.
Great idea on turning the water heater temperature closer to vacation … and, scalding hot water is not good for the skin anyway!
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Great tips and reminders as show-goers adjust budgets and schedules in this economically challenged period.
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