Anyone have a timer on their hot water heater?

[FreshTressa]

Has it saved you money?

Do you find yourself running out of hot water?

I'm trying anything I can to save money on gas..it is out of this world!

 

[nwdisgal]

I've never had a timer on my water heater, but I did things like washing my darks in cold water, and turning off the shower while I was lathering to save on hot water costs. I also had my thermostat programmed to adjust everytime we were out of the house and reduce the temperature. It was brutal during the winter, but the other thing I would do is have the heat switch off at night and come on in the morning. Double paned windows and making sure you have tight caulking around door frames, window frames etc., helps reduce heat escaping from the house which will drive up your gas bill.

 

[Towncrier]

I don't believe that our hot water heater wastes a lot of energy because the tank is so well insulated. The only time it seems to fire up is when we use water. Otherwise it just sits there with 40 gallons of hot water in it.

Rather than a timer on your hot water heater, you might try lowering the thermostat on it. If you use a dishwasher, it should have its own built in heater to make sure that the water is hot enough. And with all of the cold water laundry detergents on the market today, you probably don't need to keep the water in your hot water tank so hot.

Good luck with your gas bills. I feel your pain.