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SAVING WATER, ENERGY & MONEY

About 20% of a homeowner's annual gas bill, for the average American family, is the cost of heating water. Homes with electric water heaters have significant hot-water costs, too.

You can substantially cut your gas or electric bill with these solutions:

• When Showering:
  

  1. Turn on the shower and select the desired temperature for your shower.

  2. Completely wet your body (about 10 seconds).

  3. Turn off shower and lather/shampoo (if the shower faucet is a single-handle faucet, simply press the handle/lever straight down).

  4. After lathering/shampooing, lift handle/lever striaght up into the opposite vertical position (because the handle/lever is in the same horizontal position, the temperature of water should be the same as when turned off), and shower and rinse.

  Depending on how long you rinse or enjoy showering, you can save 10-15 galllons of hot water per each shower -- saving up to $100.00 a year, or more (depending upon the number of showers each week).

  Hint: When multiple members of the family need to shower at the same time (before work/school/church, before holiday gatherings or special outings, etc., or when family/guests are in the home), this practice allows more people to shower at one time without experiencing a cold shower.

  

• Summer - Set Water Heater Thermostat to a Lower Temperature:

  In the summer, you usually don't need the water quite as hot as when showering in the winter. The water heater's incoming "cold" water is not as cold, and the house is warmer -- reducing the rate of dissipation of your hot water's heat through the tank and pipes.

  The average water heater usually "cycles" (re-heating the same water previously heated), approximately every 80-90 minutes throughout the day and night. Set the water heater's thermostat (on the side of the water heater, usually near the bottom) to a lower temperature. Dialing the thermostat down to a lower temperature setting will save you dollars off your monthly gas/electric bill.

  NOTE: To prevent scalding accidents from excessively hot tap water, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) urges all users to lower their water heaters to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. In addition to preventing accidents, this decrease in temperature conserves energy and saves money.

   

• Replace your old water heater. Most water heaters lose efficiency with age.

  After several years of use, the accumulated sediment in the bottom of the water heater tank -- settling out from natural minerals in all the thousands of gallons of water that have passed through the tank -- covers the bottom of the tank with a blanket of sediment (sometimes up to several inches thick).

  This thick coating of sediment insulates the bottom of the tank, where the burner heats the water -- preventing the burner (or electric heating element) from quickly and efficiently heating the water in the tank. The longer it takes to heat the water, through this thick layer of sediment, the more energy is wasted.

  A new water heater has a clean tank bottom, allowing the heat to be transferred directly and efficiently to the water, reducing your energy costs.

• Get a self-cleaning water heater. We now offer a self-cleaning water heater, which directs the incoming cold water into a swirling motion, to sweep microscopic sediment particles off the bottom of the tank before they can build up -- keeping natural minerals suspended in the water, until the water leaves the tank.

  During extended use of the hot water -- such as showering or washing -- the self-cleaning feature stirs up the water in the water heater, and microscopic sediment particles in the water are then suspended in the water, allowing them to pass through the pipes, keeping the interior of the water heater tank clean. This increases the efficiency and longevity of your water heater, saving you money.

• Get a high-efficiency water heater, such as an "EnergyStar"-certified water heater ("EnergyStar" is an official government efficiency rating). Typically, these heaters are heavily insulated, to keep the water hot, longer, so the water heater does not have to reheat the water as often -- saving energy. Some have other energy-efficiency features as well, such as super-efficient burners.