On Feb 4, 12:33*pm, JIMMIE wrote:
On Feb 4, 11:01*am, "C & E" wrote:

I know that the answer in relative terms is 'yes', but in practical terms
can I wrap insulation around my three year old water heater and make a
noticeable difference? *If so, what kind of insulation?

Many years ago, in the '70's, I installed a remote swith to the water heater
at the toop of the stairs. *Before going off to work and at bedtime I turned
off the electricity going to it. *I also wrapped the tank in 3.5" of
fiberglass insulation. *It made a huge difference in our electric bill but I
understand that I'm talking about a huge difference between the two tanks.
OK, be gentle. *I have a bad...
well, I can't think of anything that isn't bad! *TIA, Chuck.

Before I switched over to gas I connected a usage meter to my water
heater. The device measures the amount of time the heater is on and
when it comes on. I was surprised by how few times it actually came on
while I was away. It only came on twice a day when I was not using hot
water. One of these was early in the morning so if I did the same
thing you were doing I would only benefit from one cycle.

Exactly. Turning off the power to a water heater while you're away
during the day or at night isn't going to make a huge difference in
your energy bill. In fact, you won't even notice it in your bill.

The essentials a

1 - The heat loss is proportional to the temp difference between the
water in the tank and ambient.

2 - The heated water cools off very slowly.

3 - You don't save anything until the water cools to the point that
the water heatered would have fired up if it were not off. By then,
it's probably close to the time you're turning it back on anyway.


My ENTIRE gas bill for the water heater during warm months when that
is the only usage is typically less than $20 a month. Now, how much
of that is to cover standby loss as compared to actual hot water usage
for showers, dishwasher, washing machine, etc? Not much. And
slightly reducing an already small amount isn't going to amount to
much.


I'm also skeptical that adding insulation to a tank is going to do
much. If it could, there is a huge incentive for water heater
manufacturers to just do it themselves. They would then have a
significantly better rated product and could sell and/or charge more.
With a gas heater in particular, most of the loss is probably up the
flue, as opposed to out the sides of the tank.

I'd like to see any actual controlled studies that were done on how
much energy more insulation can really save.


I think
these used about $0.07 of electricity each time. This does not equate
to 14 cents savings if it had been off because it is still going to
have to heat up all the water once you turn it on. I did have an
insulating blanket on the water heater at the time but didnt try it
with and without it. MAybe I would have saved 3 cents a day.

Jimmie