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Easy Steps to Lowering Your Water Heating Bill up to 55%

November 28, 2017 by jlpenner 5 Comments

Last week (my husband) and I took another step to decreasing our heating bills this winter; we installed a water heater blanket. I purchased the blanket on sale for less than $10 and (my husband) installed it in less than ten minutes.

TIP: You can even make your own blanket if you’re up for it, all you need is a roll of duct tape and some faced fiberglass insulation. By adding insulation you can reduce your heat loss by 25% – 45% which saves about 4%-9% in water heating cost.

The steps to installing a water heater blanket are pretty basic:

  • Wrap the insulation horizontally around the unit using duct tape to seal the seams
  • Make sure to leave cutouts for the thermostat, controls and drain faucets
  • Tape any remaining joints and seams where air can escape
  • If your water heater is electric make sure to cut a cap of insulation to fit the top as well and provide slits for the water inlet and outlet piping.
  • If your heater is gas, do not cover the burner access of the flue collar.
  • Make sure and read any extra instructions included with your blanket.

TIP: Not sure if your water heater needs additional insulation? Finding out is easy. Just touch it, if the tank is warm it needs insulation.

To find out more about insulating your water heater visit the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy website (EERE)

Want to save more money?

Try turning down the thermostat on your water heater. For every 10º F you reduce your temperature you could save anywhere from 3% to 5% in energy cost. You can safely reduce your water temperature to 120º F while still killing germs and bacteria.

There are also other benefits to reducing your water temperature to 120º F. The EERE states a reduced temperature of 120º F will slow mineral buildup and corrosion within your water heater and the pipes. This obviously will make your heater last longer and operate with a better efficiency. If you’re planning on being gone for more than three days turn the thermostat down to the lowest setting or turn it off completely for some short term savings.

You may find turning down your water temperature this summer that you see no difference what so ever. But in the winter you may need to adjust it a bit.

Check out the HERE website to learn more about lowering your thermostat.

Total cost for energy updates: > $10
Possible energy savings: 31% to 55%

To save even more read our post on Taking Your Heating Bill Down a Notch in 6 Easy Steps.

This Post Contains Affiliate Links - Disclosure Policy

Filed Under: Series on Frugal Living

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Comments

  1. Rachel R. says

    July 5, 2014 at 1:29 pm

    How'd you find the blanket on sale for that price? Everything I'm seeing costs at least twice that, and I've never seen them on sale. I don't want to be paying more than I have to for something to save money! :)
    Reply
    • jlpenner says

      July 5, 2014 at 9:47 pm

      I would check around on and offline. You may not find the best price on Amazon.
      Reply
  2. Melissa says

    January 28, 2015 at 8:16 am

    This is probably a stupid question, but, do you need to put a blanket on your hot water heater if it's inside your house? One of mine is in my hallway.
    Reply
  3. Alan says

    November 28, 2017 at 4:37 pm

    It will not hurt, savings will be half or less considering it is inside. I did the upper 1/2 and the top of my h20 heater. I rarely use more than a 1/2 tank. Remember water heaters are all about temp rise from the cold water. That is why they run longer in the winter time. Something that is MISSED and IGNORED is flush out the heater once a year. If your heater is more than 3 years old it might be time to get an new sacrificial anode for it. (Home store time) If there is enough interest I will do a step by step for the group. All the minerals settle on the bottom and are easily removed in the beginning.
    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 37 Ways To Save Money - The Relaxed Homeschool says:
    December 27, 2014 at 4:03 am
    […] * Lower your water heating bill by 55%. […]
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