Q–How can I cut my electric bill? I have an electric hot water heater and clothes dryer. The water heater seems to keep the cost of my electric bill quite high. Maybe it’s time for natural gas?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Patricia M. Nall, Skokie
A–It’s not surprising you’ve got high electric bills. As an energy source, electricity can be more costly than natural gas, especially for an appliance such as a water heater, which is the second most energy-hungry item in a home next to a heating and air conditioning system.
“Using electricity to run a water heater can cost as much as three times as much as using natural gas to run a water heater,” says Robert Scott, manager of technical services for the California Home Energy Efficiency Rating System, an organization that’s geared to helping homeowners save money through energy-efficient upgrades.
We’ll talk about switching over to natural gas, but that’s a long-term investment as far as an energy payback. First, you might want to consider some other steps to shave dollars off your electric bill, says Scott.
For example, check the temperature setting on the water heater. Run a hot water tap and use a thermometer to measure how hot the water is. If it’s 145 degrees or more, it’s too hot and you’re wasting electricity. Turn down the thermostat on the water heater so that the water reaches a temperature of around 135.
“Most electric water heaters have a heating element on both the top and bottom of the unit,” says Scott, “so there should be thermostats for both. Make sure you set the upper thermostat slightly lower than the bottom thermostat, as heat rises.”
Next, you may want to hire an electrician to wire a timer to the water heater that you can program to cycle the unit off and on. For example, you can shut down the water heater late in the evening after you go to bed and program it so that it fires back up an hour or so before you wake.
You can do the same if you’re away at work during the day.
Otherwise, the water heater runs round-the-clock, using electricity even when you’re asleep or not at home.
It should cost about $100 or so to wire a timer to the water heater, but you could recoup that expenditure in a couple of months through lower electric bills, says Scott. From there on, it’s continued savings for your pocket.
Scott also recommends insulating the water heater with an insulation jacket or blanket, especially if the water heater is located in a cool area, such as a basement or garage. You also can place foam pipe wraps on the supply pipes leaving the water heater to help keep that heated water warm.
Again, those are fairly low-cost steps that should pay for themselves rather quickly.
With your clothes dryer, there’s one simple way to make sure it’s running efficiently: Don’t over-extend the drying time on a load of clothes. Once the clothes have dried, you’re just wasting electricity if the dryer is still heating and tumbling. If the dryer has a sensor that shuts the machine off when the clothes are dry, use it.
You might want to consider changing over to natural gas appliances, which cost far less to run in terms of energy, says Scott. The payback, however, is long-term and varies depending on household usage.
For example, while utility companies such as Peoples Gas and Northern Illinois Gas will pipe natural gas into your home for free, you will need to pay a plumber to run gas pipes inside the structure to appliances throughout the house. You’ll also need to pay someone to hook up an exhaust vent pipe from the water heater to the chimney on your home.
And then, of course, you’ll need to buy new appliances. That would make more sense if your existing water heater and dryer are older models that are approaching costly repairs.
The initial outlay can be substantial–as much as a couple of thousand dollars. But that investment will eventually pay for itself in energy savings, even if it takes several years.
“Again, it depends on your family situation,” says Scott. “If you’ve got a lot of kids who take a lot of showers and wash a lot of clothes, you’ll see a return a lot faster than if you’re living alone. But in the long run it will make sense.”
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