Power on/off electrical water heater tank to save energy?
Question:i have a 40 gallon electrical water heater tank at my business. should i turn it on only during business hours (10am-7pm) to save energy?
i thought heat loss from the tank always occurs unless there is something else that i am not aware of.
Answers:
What Corky said.
No . Have a electrician install a timer .
timer set 1 hr before work 1 hr before close would be best
they best way, would be to make sure the tank is insulated, if it is then leave it running, there's a thermostat on it anyway. if the tank is insulated it wont lose much heat overnight anyway, just like a thermos flask is still hot all day
big fred and vincent are absolutely right on this on but, add one thing, insulate the heater with a water heater blanket and insulate the h/w pipes from the heater to fixtures where you can. armaflex, or cellular core insulation, works best and is easy to install.
The timer installation is an excellent solution, and I would add one a couple things. First, if the unit is less than 5 years old, the tank is already insulated with approx. 1" of foam. You could boil water on one side and freeze it on the other of a 1" foam sheet, it's that good, so you don't need a "blanket" wrapped and taped around the heater. Second, contact your local electric company to see if they have an "ON PEAK/OFF PEAK" program available. If they do, the electricity to run your unit, (and anything else electrical) would be really cheap during the off peak hours. Don't know what sort of business you have, or if you really need much hot water during the hours you're there, but if you don't use the hot water as a manufacturing tool, then you could probably heat your water supply at night, by the timer and save yourself a chunk of money as well as saving energy.
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