Hot water heater timer

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I wish I could tell you. I have timers on both our water heaters but there are so many other variables like HVAC use that figuring out the savings is tough. You may want to check out this website http://waterheatertimer.org/
 
My father claimed there was savings.

I don't know if there actually is a measurable savings. I suppose it would depend on how much heated water you need and when.

Matt
 
if you use your hot water in the morning and at night i bet you won't see any savings. if your tank is well insulated it should hold the heat all day without turning on. and the one bad thing about electric hot water is, it takes a month of sundays to heat a cold tank. especially so if it is larger than a 50 gallon. most power companies around here in new england charge the same rate all day and night. but when they used to charge cheaper at night that might of been the way to go.
 
My father-in-law turns his off at the breaker box.

He heats the water, and then he switches off the breaker. Last time we were there he mentioned that it had been three days since he had the breaker on.

If a water heater can keep the water hot for three days, then it's obviously not loosing much heat. If it looses little heat, then it's not going to come on much, if any.

I think it's counter-productive. If the element runs a little bit at a time now and then to keep the water hot it seems like it ought to be more efficient than if it needs to work hard and long to heat up a cold tank. It probably depends in part on your usage patterns and in part on how well insulated your tank is.
 
I have saved a lot of money by using a simple timer and dishwasher solenoid valve connected to the shower that the kids use. My teenagers were taking long showers,using up all the hot water and driving the gas bill way up. The timer is is set for 8 minuets. So after 8 mins the hot water instantly shuts off, whether your ready or not. No more yelling, " GET OUT OF THE SHOWER " everyday. The switch for the timer is in the on the kit wall, occasionally, they will cheat and have another brother re-set the timer for them. It's funny to be sitting at the kit table and hear that tic tic tic , snap, off goes the hot water and then a holler from the kid in the shower because only the cold water stays on. They have learned to quickly sense the water flow and shut off the water before the cold blasts them. I know, it sounds cruel, but it solved a lot of problems and saved a good bit of money.
 
mikeyny said:
I have saved a lot of money by using a simple timer and dishwasher solenoid valve connected to the shower that the kids use. My teenagers were taking long showers,using up all the hot water and driving the gas bill way up. The timer is is set for 8 minuets. So after 8 mins the hot water instantly shuts off, whether your ready or not. No more yelling, " GET OUT OF THE SHOWER " everyday. The switch for the timer is in the on the kit wall, occasionally, they will cheat and have another brother re-set the timer for them. It's funny to be sitting at the kit table and hear that tic tic tic , snap, off goes the hot water and then a holler from the kid in the shower because only the cold water stays on. They have learned to quickly sense the water flow and shut off the water before the cold blasts them. I know, it sounds cruel, but it solved a lot of problems and saved a good bit of money.

That's great! I always wanted to do something like that. I've turned of the valve at the water heater manually a few times to encourage my boys (and sister-in-law) to get out of the shower.

I always wondered if there was some easy way to limit the amount of water you electric water heater would produce to get the same effect.
 
My tank is a newer efficient model. I've shut the breaker off and gone away for 2 days and still had some warm water in the tank when I got home.
I have my doubts about any significant savings.
For a buck I might just try it. Not out much.
 
mikeyny said:
I have saved a lot of money by using a simple timer and dishwasher solenoid valve connected to the shower that the kids use. My teenagers were taking long showers,using up all the hot water and driving the gas bill way up. The timer is is set for 8 minuets. So after 8 mins the hot water instantly shuts off, whether your ready or not. No more yelling, " GET OUT OF THE SHOWER " everyday. The switch for the timer is in the on the kit wall, occasionally, they will cheat and have another brother re-set the timer for them. It's funny to be sitting at the kit table and hear that tic tic tic , snap, off goes the hot water and then a holler from the kid in the shower because only the cold water stays on. They have learned to quickly sense the water flow and shut off the water before the cold blasts them. I know, it sounds cruel, but it solved a lot of problems and saved a good bit of money.

Now that's funny!


Matt
 
I wonder why they call it a "hot water" heater? I mean, if the water were hot it wouldn't need to be heated.

Around here we have time-of-use (TOU) pricing so off-peak electricity is half the price of on-peak. A timer that heats water during the off-peak could reduce your electric bill considerably.

My water heater runs on natural gas and they don't have TOU pricing.
 
LLigetfa said:
I wonder why they call it a "hot water" heater? I mean, if the water were hot it wouldn't need to be heated.

Imagine when you first install the unit and turn it on. The water is cold, and the unit heats it until it's hot. Now use some water. Use enough that that the burner or element just comes on. What temperature is the water at the instant the element/burner engages? I bet it's still hot...

;-)
 
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