Heating and cooling units

Except for heating and cooling units, the water heater is your home’s largest energy user.  Unless you need a higher temperature for a dishwasher, set your unit for 120º F.  Turn it off when you go away for more than a few days.

If you have an electric unit, find out if your power company offers off-peak rates.  Schedule bathing, laundering, and dishwashing for these periods, or just prior to them.  You need to have a special meter installed.  It’s usually on a circuit with a timer set to run the water heater during off-peak hours.

Does your water heater feel warm when you touch it?  It’s losing heat.  Wrap it with an insulating fiberglass blanket available as a kit.  Take care not to cover a gas unit’s top or to block the air flow to the gas burner at the bottom.

If you are buying a new water heater, get a super-insulated energy-saving model.  Putting extra insulation on an old, less-efficient water heater, won’t save much.