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Greener Living Realty defines the future standard in real estate services. Toronto real estate will never be the same. We put green in your pocket.
Make Your Water Heater More Efficient
One of the biggest hogs of energy and water in your home is the hot water heater. When you start up the hot water tap, your hot water heater heats up the water and that can take a few seconds. Those seconds waste water, which just goes down the drain. To prevent that wasted water, you can make your water heater more energy efficient, thereby saving energy and water. Try these tips.
- First, you can turn down the thermostat on the water heater. Most hot water heaters operate at 140 degrees F, which is way too hot if you are having a shower. Instead, lower the temperature to about 12 degrees F. This will make the hot water heater more efficient.
- Purchase an insulating blanket at the hardware store and then wrap the hot water heater in this. If you go to your hot water heater and it is warm to the touch, which means that hot water is vaporizing into the air in the room. When you insulate, you keep the heat in and that means it takes less time to heat up the water. You can usually find a blanket for about $20 in most stores.
- The pipes that lead away from your hot water heater can be wrapped as well to keep them warm. There are foam pipe covers that can be cut to any length and put on the pipes to keep them warm. This is one of the cheapest ways to keep your hot water heater operating at peak efficiency.
- When you are not going to be using your hot water heater, you can simply turn off the power to it. If you are going away on vacation, turn off the power.
- In addition, if you are only using the hot water when you shower in the morning and do dishes at night, you can set a timer on your hot water heater so it only comes on at 6 a.m., shuts off at 10 a.m. and then comes on at 7 p.m. and shuts off at 9 p.m. By doing this you save 17 hours of energy on your hot water heater.
The hot water heater is something many home owners do not think about because it is in the basement and away from them. However, by just wrapping your hot water heater, you can save a lot of energy and water and that is good for your wallet and the environment.