Cutting the Cost of Heating Water

[Blessed]

How can we lower our water heating costs even more?

After evaluating our hot water usage, I've discovered that we really only use hot water in the evenings. I'm considering some insulation for the hot water heater and a timer to kick on for 1/2 hour in the morning (in case it's a day when ds wants to shower in the morning and to maintain some degree of water temperature duning the day, just in case) and again in the evening before the munchkins bathe and I do dishes.

[sunshine]

Wash your clothes in cold water

Use water flow restrictors in the shower

Make sure the pipes from the water heater to the washer/shower/faucets are insulated as well

[homesteadmamma]

You can only insulate your water heater if it is electric. DO NOT INSULATE IF IT IS NATURAL GAS.

~wash in cold water
~turn your water heater down in temps.
~limit the time each person takes a shower. There is no reason why teens have to take 20 mins. showers.
~if you have baths, use less water (I'm bad for this one, I love a full tub of hot water).

[Blessed]

Even though I wash clothes in "cold", my washer still adds hot water and it seems like a "warm" wash to me. When I start my next load I will check which faucet is hot and turn it OFF!

I also want to figure out how the hot water is routed to the basement shower. It is about 15 feet from the hot water heater, but it takes at least 3 minutes for the hot water to get there. It must be going all the way up to the second floor and back! The kitchen faucet is about the same distance and the hot water is almost instant there.

[canadian gardener]

Use timers for the showers, and kids don't need to bathe every day. See if people can bathe every other day and do a tops and tails damp washcloth wipe down in between.

We use flow restrictors to reduce the water coming out our shower head to 40% as well.