With rising energy costs, it’s more important than ever to find ways to make your home as energy efficient as possible. One easy and affordable project that can have a big impact on efficiency is insulating your water heater. Water heater insulation can help slow the rate of heat loss from the tank, resulting in significantly lower energy usage. This can add up to big savings on your monthly power bills.
To understand how insulation can boost efficiency, it’s important to first understand the basics of how a water heater works. Essentially, a water heater is just a tank of water that has been heated to a predetermined temperature. Most of the time, the hot water just sits there in the tank, ready to be used when you need it.
The problem is, as the water sits, heat continually escapes through the tank into the surrounding air. As a result, the water heater has to keep heating the same water over and over again. Water heater insulation improves efficiency by slowing the rate of heat loss from the tank, which in turn lessens the heating load on the water heater.
The easiest way to insulate your water heater is by using a pre-cut insulating blanket from your local home improvement store. If you have an electric water heater, you can probably do the insulating yourself as a quick weekend project. However, if you have a gas water heater, you may want to consider hiring a professional to do the job since incorrectly installed insulation on a gas water heater can create a number of safety hazards.
If you decide to do it yourself, before insulating your tank verify that the temperature is set no higher than 130 degrees and that there are no water leaks. Additionally, check your owner’s manual or contact the manufacturer of your water heater to make sure that installing insulation around the tank is safe.
If you live in the San Joaquin Valley and want to learn more about water heater insulation, contact us at Donald P. Dick Air Conditioning.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about insulation and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
Donald P Dick Air Conditioning services the greater Fresno area in California. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!