Turn off ELECTRIC water heater?

Question

I have an electric water heater ( pretty small...) Because we are not using it during the night time, I wonder if I could turn it off and save some money. ( Yes I will put insulation around it)

I would like to know

1, What do I have to be careful with

2, How long will it take to get it heated

3, Do they sell timers? if so where can I buy it (how much do they usually run?)?

Thank you so much for taking your time

:D

Answer 1

You're better off just wrapping it. Turning it off and on by the breaker is ill advised, will defiantly shorten the life of the breaker considerably.

Their not meant to be used like a light switch. That's what you have to be careful with, it's just not a good practice to get into.

You wont save any noticeable energy this way. Now; if the place was going to be vacant for some time then it would help.

The time it takes to heat back up on a small tank is not long; maybe 20 minutes. The tank will not empty if you simply turn the power off so you don't need to worry about how long it will take to refill.

A good alternative is the timer. Easy to install and program.

They cost anywhere from 20-60 bucks. you don't need anything fancy; just a basic timer. They can be purchased at the big home improvement stores like Home Depot Lowe's or on line.

I use something similar to this:

http://doitbest.com/Time+controlled+swit...

Answer 2

I wouldn't agonize over the nighttime energy used.  Adding a jacket of insulation to it will decrease its energy usage. Besides you would just use the energy when you turned it on, it would just run longer to heat the cooler than normal water.  Overnight it probably turns on once to keep the water warm.  To save some money try turning down the water heaters thermostat.

A timer added to the heater is just something else that can malfunction, or add complexity to what's normally a simple system.

Answer 3

The timer is definitely the way to go.  They are about $40, but let an electrician wire it in for you.  It should have several settings for different times of the day.  Good luck!

Answer 4

We did exactly what you are DOING in the first home that we bought brand new from builder bec it was all electric and besides hungry electric water heater, we also had to deal with an inefficient heat pump.

Yes, we looked at timers for electric hot water heaters at Home Depots and Lowes but we never took the time or spent the money to have one installed...rather we just made it a practice or daily routine to flip the circuit breaker like in the morning when we woke up for so many minutes (definitely turning it off before we left for work) and the same thing in the evening upon arriving home from work, we normally left it on so long or until last person took shower and dishes were done etc.

FYI we haven't done this for years bec the last home and current one we own had/have a gas furnace and a gas hot water heater bec those who lived in all electric home if they want to lower utilities and look at reference sources don't know that the electric hot water heater wastes energy bec it will turns on by itself to maintain a certain water temperature.

Hope the Above Info Helps!