Gas Water Heater Question

[dfchelbay]

In going over utility bills for last year, I noticed that our gas bill, when not heating the house is over $40 per month. The only things in our house that run on gas are the furnace and the hot water heater. It's a 40 gallon tank. My questions are:

1. Whether this is a reasonable cost, in the summer months, for a water heater to cost over $40 per month;

2. Would it be alright to shut the hot water tank off every morning, while no one is home all day, and turn it back on in the evening. If so, can this also be done in the winter months as well.

The water tank and furnace are located in the center of the house, not on an outside wall, so the water would not get too cold in the water tank all day. As a matter of fact, the water heater is right next to the furnace in the utility room, so it would stay warm to the touch I would think.

Also, would I be risking damaging the water tank in any way by turning it on and off (or to vacation mode) everyday?

Currently the hot water tank temperature is 1/2 way between warm and super hot.

Thanks all.

Forgot to add that there are just two adults in the house.

 

[irisesareblue]

I am not an expert, however, I think $40.00 per month to keep your hot water heated is a little excessive, especially for only 2 adults. You could try calling your local utility and asking them what the average is.

I don't think turning it off during the day would help you any - you are still going to have to heat it up again and that might take more energy in the long run....

 

[prncess674]

Do you have an insulator blanket for your hot water heater? See this article from the DOE.
http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/water_heating/index.cfm/mytopic=13070

 

[Janet Hill]

Florida has notoriously high natural gas prices, so you should focus on the amount consumed not the $ you pay when making comparisons. Look at your bill to see what the montly minimum is you may not be using much more than that.

 

[3boymthr]

DH is in HVAC he said you shouldn't shut it "OFF" every day:

1) The pilot would go out - which you don't want. Gas leaking, carbon monoxide, etc.

2) The water is going to have to heat up again at the end of the day and it's going to run just as long to heat it up.

Vacation mode might be okay but see number two above.

He definitely does recommend getting a blanket for the water heater and insulating all your pipes. Also, have it cleaned and any rods (there is apparently a rod inside many models that is designed to collect minerals that deteriorates over time and causes the heater to run in-efficiently when it's gone), etc. replaced this might help your cost.

However; the problem may not be your water heater but your gas company. Check your statements and see if the cause of the high cost is not your water heater but that you are being charged a minimum service fee for your gas utility. We have a friend who has gas service at her summer house and must pay $40 a month just because the local gas company dictates that you have to pay a minimum fee or not get service.

 

[Colleen27]

I agree with 3boymthr - look at your bill to make sure it is actually energy usage and not a minimum service fee. In our old house, everything was electric except the furnace, but our gas bill was still $30 during the summer because that's the minimum "consumer charge". Once we figured that out, we started having our service suspended for the non-heating months. The $20 disconnect and reconnect fees were better than $30/month for 5-6 months of virtually zero use.

When we moved in here we had a conventional 40gal hot water tank, and our gas bill was that same $30/month, give or take a few dollars. Turns out there is a certain amount of gas usage included in that minimum charge, and our water heater alone seldom went over it. Now we've got a gas tankless but it won't save us on our summer gas bill because of that minimum charge (we'll still save on winter usage, but that makes the payback period on the tankless much longer).

If the bill is based on usage, I'd look at a blanket for the tank and insulation for any pipes that run through unheated space to reduce the bill. Turning off the tank isn't a good idea because it allows water to condense on the burner. Tap water isn't pure, and the residue leftover when it evaporates can be enough to cause problems in the pilot or ignition, particularly if this is something you're doing over and over each day.

 

[runwad]

...kinda along the same line...our tank has a recommended setting which is a triangle, then there is after that an A,B & C. We always keep it set on A, the triangle is just not hot enough. However when we all are going to shower at night (5 of us) I'll turn the setting up to B four hours before we start our showers. DH doesn't think it's good that i keep turning it up and down from A to B daily and says I should just leave on B. Anyone know if he's right and i'm hurting anything? B is really hot and while we like really hot showers we don't want to leave it on B all the time and scald ourselves when we're washing our hands. Thanks.

 

[Disney_Freak56]

I'm ging to guess that your $40 bill in the summer is the minimum for having a home account in your area. I long for the days when my gas bill used to be $17 in the summer. Those days are long gone.

I do know those that live in apartments in my area do not have that minimum amount in the summer. It is way cheaper.

Guess that's the price you pay for living in a house versus an apartment.