In the average American home, the water heater is the second greediest appliance in terms of energy use. Most people's water heaters are set to 140°F without them even knowing it. But 120°F is plenty hot for a shower and also hot enough to kill any bacteria that could build up in your heater--plus, at this lower setting you'll save a lot of energy.
What You Should Know
- Between 15-30% of the energy your water heater uses goes toward keeping a huge tank full of water hot at all times, in case you need it.
- The
heat that escapes through the sides of the tank is especially important
if it's in an unheated spot like a basement or back porch. A water
heater blanket can save 5%-10% of the energy you've been using.
- Tankless electric water heaters are making their appearance in America these days in kitchens and bathrooms. They light up whenever someone turns on the hot water, and they heat the water as it passes through--so they don't waste any energy keeping a tank hot.
- If half of the households in America turned down their water heaters by 10° F, we could prevent 239 million tons of carbon dioxide from being emitted each year.
Easy Ways You Can Help
Turn the temperature of your water heater down to 120°F (or turn it to the "energy conservation" setting, if there is one). If you have an electric water heater with an upper and a lower thermostat, lower them both to 120°F.Check to see if your dishwasher has a booster heater. These internal water heaters bring the water temperature up to 140°F, allowing you to get rid of tough grease while keeping the water heater for the rest of your home set at 120°F. Look in your owner's manual to see if your dishwasher has one of these. If it doesn't, you may want to leave your home's water heater set at 140°F.
Wrap your water heater and insulate any exposed hot-water pipes to reduce your annual hot-water bill by as much as 15 percent. The cost of the wrap and insulation will be earned back in savings within one year.
Source: You Can Prevent Global Warming: 51 Easy Ways (Jeffrey Langholz, PhD, and Kelly Turner), and 30 Simple Energy Things You Can Do To Save The Earth (The Earth Works Group and PG&E)