since the hot water tank in our homes consumes the most electrical power?

Question

why not have available a heavy duty adjustable timer to turn off at night since most people do not need for 10 hours?
this would be like every one turning off eqivalent of
800 (60 watt) light bulbs.

sure it may take 2 hours to heat up but we save 8 hours of energy.

could you imagine the savings of hydro demand.

Answer 1

I don't know if turning the water heater down would do a lot of saving... I would have to re-heat all the water to sustain the needed temperature and all that. I'm sure there is some research about it somewhere on the web.

I do know that:

"On demand" water heaters heat upon use, so they are about 70-80% efficient. There are electric ones and gas. I remember that we chose gas because.... I don't remember why (hey I'm getting old and I have two kids to chase after!! he he). I'll post that later when my husband comes in. Okay, I remember now, the electric would be too expensive to run in my area and it also has to be mounted inside and our current home doesn't have the room for it. The gas ones can be mounted outside.

There are also new gas water heaters with a different type of coil system and they are about 80-90% efficient. They catch the heat going out and re-circulate it, making it more efficient than anything else out there.

Answer 2

Hot water tanks are very well insulated. If the water is not being used it will maintain temperature with almost no energy consumption so the saving would more likely be less than 1/10th what you propose. I would guess the heater would only come on once or twice in a whole night for 5-10 minutes each time. And nearly everything you might save would be used up to reheat the water anyway.

Now, if you were to turn it down several degrees you would see a signifigant saving. And turning it off when you will be gone several days also makes sense. But not for just a few hours each night.

Bert

Answer 3

As a few of the previous folks have mentioned, there have been heavy duty 220 Volt appliance timers on the market and in use in many, many homes for years. I've personally had one on my elec. water heater for over 20 years. What they failed to mention and may not know about, is a program available in most areas from your electric company, called an On peak/Off peak program. On this special program you receive super cheap electricity from, (in our instance), 9 PM - 7 AM, (overnight), and from 9 PM Friday evening to 7 AM Monday morning. We've been on this program for at least 15 years and love it. We actually turn our heater off during the day, when the electric is at normal or a few cents/kilowatt hour more, and turn it on at 9 PM and heat the water overnight. Most all water heaters that have been manufactured in the US in the last 15 years have foam insulation injected inbetween the outer shell and the inner tank. It's usually at least an inch thick, sometimes more. This foam insulation provides much, much more protection against heat loss through the sides of the tank than the old fiberglass did, so you don't need blankets on water heaters anymore. They still sell them, but they've outlived their usefullness and are more trouble than their worth. Unless we have grandkids over to visit who think they need to shower three times a day, we generally have plenty of hot water to last us the day till the heater comes back on at 9:00. Check with your power company about the program.

Answer 4

There are already timers on the market they've been around for many years. I don't have any data on how much energy they save. Like Bert says, maybe it won't provide any savings. An insulation blanket and turning the temperature down I'm sure will save energy.
The best solution to save money over the long haul would be to install a 'hot water on demand system' which only heats the water while in use. Great for you and the environment.

Answer 5

That's the challenge with electricity you never know when it is on.. I have an oil fired tank and I know that it does not come on very often during the night...........Extra insulation for overnight and turn it off when away for more then 2 days.

you will not save 8 hours because it only uses electricity when heating

Answer 6

A noble idea, but you may find that the appliance was not designed with frequent temperature cycling in mind. The regular expansion and contraction might put mechanical stress on the tank and other components.

You might check with the manufacturer to determine if it's okay to add additional insulation.

Answer 7

You are barking up the wrong tree. Put a blanket around the water heater and most important, wrap your hot water pipes with pipe insulation. That is the best bang for your buck....

Answer 8

They do have timers for electric water heaters...but the est things to do is put that extra insulation blanket around the heater.

Answer 9

Have you ever considered a tankless hot water heater? 50% of your energy cost back in your pocket.

Have a look:

http://www.furnace-water-heaters.com/112-tankless-electric-water-heaters.html