THE HOME IS THE FASTEST AND BEST PLACE TO CONSERVE IN YOUR DAILY LIFE, HOME IS WHERE THE HEAT IS...

SAVINGS -   
Insulate the Second Largest Energy Consumer $4+ a month
Automatic Dishwashers can heat their own water - $1 a month
Vacation Hot Water Heater Setting - $5+ a month
Clean out sediment from your heater - $1 a month
Temperature Settings will help save energy - $5+ a month
For big families, separate your shower times - $3 a month
Fix any drips within your house - $1+ a month
Flow Control Faucets and Shower Heads - $2 a month

Insulate the Second Largest Energy Consumer: Throughout the house, the hot water heater uses up the second largest amount of energy. So if you can learn to use it, you can save a great deal.  A great deal of energy is lost through the sides of the hot water heater.  Take some blanket insulation and wrap the sides of the hot water heater this will contain the heat that flows through the hot water heater.  You can also buy insulation kits for your hot water heater that provide everything you need to insulate your heater. This can save you about 10% of your hot water heating bill.  Most new hot water heaters are already insulated but you can still wrap these with a little more it won’t hurt, but this is more for older hot water heaters. Also insulated the hot water pipes throughout the house, this way the heat in the water can actually make it to the designated faucets.

Automatic Dishwashers can heat their own water: The hot water heater does not need to be set so high when you have an automatic heating element inside your dishwasher.  All other appliances heat their own water, the dishwasher use to be the only one that was questionable but with this heating element, you have no need to raise your water heater temperature. If the dishwasher has an additional booster then the temperature for your heater can be lowered to 110 – 120 degrees.

Vacation Hot Water Heater Setting: When you will be away from the home for over two days, turn your hot water heater down to the Vacation Setting.  This will keep the pilot light on and will keep a little bit of heater running through the water lines.  Also as a simple note, in the winter, do not turn off you furnace when vacationing, this will cool down the house to the point that the water lines will freeze. When the lines thaw, there is a good possibility that those lines will burst and flood your home.  Do not lower your furnace temperature below 55 degrees to prevent this from happening.

Clean out sediment from your heater: At least once a year, hook up a hose to the spicket, or place a bucket under that same spicket, at the bottom of the hot water heater and drain all sediment out of your tank.  Sediment is the material left over in the tank when water is heated; it’s made up of metal in the tank and minerals in the water. It will look like a black substance and is very normal. If this is not done, the sediment will build up and lower the amount of water that is heated in the hot water heater.

Temperature Settings will help save energy: Besides having an automatic heating dishwasher, the temperature of your hot water heater should only be as high as you skin can take.  Turn your shower nozzle complete on hot, if you can not stand in the water comfortably, lower the temperature.  When you fell you need to mix cold water to your hot water, your hot water heater is automatically too high and its wasting a great deal of energy.  Your hot water heater has a recommended level marked on the dial; this is a great place to set the dial of your hot water heater.

If you have a big family separate your shower times: If you turned down the water in your hot water heater, watch and figure out when your family takes showers. If the hot water seems to run out when your family takes them all at the same time then consider some in your family taking them at the opposite end of the day. If most of your family takes showers in the morning, then ask some to consider taking showers at night.  This way you will always have hot water and you won’t have to have your heater turned up all the time.

Fix any drips within your house: If you find a dripping faucet or a leaking pipe, you are watching money going down the drain.  As soon as possible, fix this leak.  You will say money, energy, and your hot water.

Flow Control Faucets and Shower Heads: You can also install flow control faucets and showerheads to control the flow of water. It may slow it down a little but it will continually give you a constant flow of water.