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Your hot water heater spares you from ice cold showers and keeps your dishes clean, but in doing so it can serve as a huge energy hog in your home. While you can’t completely cut out its use, it is possible to reduce the amount of energy that your hot water heater consumes. By following these energy saving tips, you can reduce your electrical costs and make your hot water heater much more energy efficient. It’s also possible to reduce the amount of hot water that you consume through low flow fixtures and routine maintenance. Use an Insulation Jacket An insulation jacket wraps around your hot water heater to stop excess heat from being lost, thus conserving energy. A standard British insulation jacket can reduce the amount of excess heat loss by more than 70%. These accessories are very inexpensive; in fact, the amount of money that a home can save in a single year as the result of an insulation jacket is more than enough to cover the cost of the jacket itself. Cover Exposed Hot Water Pipes Once hot water leaves your hot water tank, it travels a route along the same hot water pipes. Like your hot water heater, these pipes can result in lost heat if they are not insulated. While not all hot water pipes are accessible, exposed piping in a basement or outdoors should be insulated with self-sealing pipe sleeves. This conserves even more energy than covering just your water heater, and the sleeves are easy to apply. Check For Leaks Leaking pipes will cost a lot of money each month, and waste hot water. Fixing leaking pipes and fixtures will conserve water and energy. Even a leak that appears very small can greatly increase the amount of water that a home consumes in a year. A hot water heater that is leaking should have its tank replaced as soon as possible. Buy Low Flow Fixtures It’s important to use showerheads and sink faucets that are designed to reduce the amount of water consumed. Some showerheads, for instance, remain at a trickle until the water gets hot enough, and can then be set to run at full flow. Even at full flow, the fixture should be designed to let out less water than normal. A single family can save more than 56,000 liters of water per person with a low flow shower head, reducing the amount of energy that the hot water heater produces as well. Turn Down the Water Heater Temperature When a water heater is produced in a factory, it may be set to the highest temperature by default. In fact, the water heater can be turned down to a medium setting and still produce hot water when needed, but conserve energy at the same time. While the water heater should never be below 49 degrees Celsius (or 120 degrees Fahrenheit), as this may result in bacteria growth, it’s possible to still benefit from hot water with a lower setting.
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energy saving, energy saving tips, conserving energy, energy efficiency,
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