Water heaters can use a lot of energy. If you have a typical 50 gallon tank water heater then its may be costing you around $400 a year to operate. One fairly easy and inexpensive way to cut down the cost of heating your water is to install an insulating blanket around the water heater.
Lowe's has an R10 water heater blanket for about $22.
According to the DoE Energy Efficiency guide, insulating your water heater can save 4-9% on your heating costs. If you're using $400 now and save 4-9% then thats an annual savings of $16 to $36. That's a good return on a $22 investment and it should pay for itself in around a year.
Its pretty simple Do It Yourself project too. The DoE has an illustrated guide to installing water heater insulation.
September 6, 2008
Install a water heater insulating blanket to save energy.
Labels:
energy savings,
frugal