Insulating hot water heaters

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95busa

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The other day I found this site- http://www.johnsavesenergy.com/
The guy who runs it recommended insulating the hot water heater. I had always heard if your heater isnt warm to the touch, then it doesnt need extra insulation. He laid out a pretty convincing argument though (pics of his meter before/after, etc and good methodology on his other efficiency tricks), so I gave it a try. I put one layer of reflectix on the top of the tank, and put one of those generic hot water heater blankets from Lowes on it. Too early to see the savings, BUT, when you put your hand under the insulation, it is HOT under there (electric water heater), so clearly the old warm to the touch test is not accurate. I recommend you insulate your heater if you havent already, because it is certainly losing heat!
 
Insulate the pipes too...

Do about twelve inches on the intake,
As much of the outtake as you can,
and also the pressure relief...

I put mine on cinderblocks or bricks, and in a pan.

I set the temp to 110 degrees,
over 140 can cause scalding, and wastes energy...
 
I used a water heater blanket on all of our older gas water heaters. However, our Geospring hardly ever runs, so I don't think I'd see the payback. The Geospring has a pretty well insulated tank as it is.
 
If the heater is in a room you normally heat, then the heat lost from the tank is not really wasted during the heating season. Summer is a different matter. The same is true of a refrigerator. It's simply an electric heater during the cooler months.
 
since the weather is getting colder, my wife asked me to put a blanket on our gas water heater. she claims the water is not as hot in the winter. I'm not sure if its worth it. our water heater is 13 years old. it can croak at any time.
 
Originally Posted By: Cutehumor
since the weather is getting colder, my wife asked me to put a blanket on our gas water heater. she claims the water is not as hot in the winter. I'm not sure if its worth it. our water heater is 13 years old. it can croak at any time.


If it is anything like our water... the tap water is LOTS colder in the winter (mostly stored above ground), and it takes longer for the water heater to do its job.
 
I just had to replace our gas hot water heater 4 months ago... I asked the plumber if a blanket was necessary... He replied that todays tanks are very well insulated and don't need it... Unless it is stored in a very cold place.

But then again-> Insulating can't hurt. the outside shell of my tank is never warm or hot... It is always cool to the touch... so I figure I don't need it.
 
Originally Posted By: 95busa
The other day I found this site- http://www.johnsavesenergy.com/
The guy who runs it recommended insulating the hot water heater. I had always heard if your heater isnt warm to the touch, then it doesnt need extra insulation. He laid out a pretty convincing argument though (pics of his meter before/after, etc and good methodology on his other efficiency tricks), so I gave it a try. I put one layer of reflectix on the top of the tank, and put one of those generic hot water heater blankets from Lowes on it. Too early to see the savings, BUT, when you put your hand under the insulation, it is HOT under there (electric water heater), so clearly the old warm to the touch test is not accurate. I recommend you insulate your heater if you havent already, because it is certainly losing heat!


Thanks for posting up the link- I'll look through there. Our water heater is only about a year old and cool to the touch outside. My wife wanted me insulate it, but I too, figured nothing to be gained. Your observations have spurred me into insulating ours now.



Originally Posted By: -SyN-
I just had to replace our gas hot water heater 4 months ago... I asked the plumber if a blanket was necessary... He replied that todays tanks are very well insulated and don't need it... Unless it is stored in a very cold place.

But then again-> Insulating can't hurt. the outside shell of my tank is never warm or hot... It is always cool to the touch... so I figure I don't need it.


When I put ours in, I asked my neighbor the plumber (who I also bought the heater from) the same question and got the same answer.





There must be a fair bit of radiant heat escaping if the o/p's heater is now warm/hot under the blanket?
 
Some what off topic . but for the last ten years I thought when the water heater goes out I will put in a tankless heater in. Well Saturday after noon the Water heater dies and I drove by the store that sold the tankless water heater and they were closed. I went to Home Depot and bought a conventional water and had hot water about a hour later.
 
A decent electric tankless heater takes 100 amps to run. Unless you have that easily available they (electric tankless) can be a pain to install....gas tankless? Well then much easier.
 
We have these running natural gas: stove, cloth dryer and 40 gallons water heater. Our monthly gas cost is around $10-12, my cost estimate for each one is: stove about $5, water heater about $5 and cloth dryer about $2. The water heater currently has no blanket and cool to the touch, except when it's running then the bottom 1/3 get a little warm. I don't know if installing insulation for it will save me enough money in 4-5 years to recoup the cost.
 
I had one on our old fired tank unit. Now that we have an indirect, the overall losses are so low that Im not worried and havent added one. I did insulate all the pipes well, as copper pipes are great conductors of heat out of the tank... Be aware of the warmth of drain valves, pressure devices, etc.
 
We have the foam sleeves on the copper pipes coming from the water heater.

Other than that nothing.

My cost to cook and heat water for two showers is about $27 per month.

I think 15 of that is an account fee, so we use 10-12 dollars per month in actual natural fuel?
 
Originally Posted By: WobblyElvis
If the heater is in a room you normally heat, then the heat lost from the tank is not really wasted during the heating season. Summer is a different matter. The same is true of a refrigerator. It's simply an electric heater during the cooler months.

Well.....I see the point here, but looking at the lost heat as heating the house is backwards IMO. I look at it as my house cooling my hot water! Also- its a really inefficient way to heat- the heat doesnt get distributed, it just heats my laundry room, which already has a drier in it. Who has a hot water heater in a room that they spend any time in? I think it is most efficient to have my hot water heater heat my water not my house, especially in summer, since the hot water heater doesnt recognize what season it is and heats year round, and have my HVAC control the temp in my house with minimal interference from appliances, etc.
 
Also- it cost like $18 for the heater insulation and about $5 to insulate the pipes- really cheap to do. If you look at the johnsavesenergy website, he lays out the cost/benefit analysis. I dont want to waste the time to type all the data (which is why I put the link in) but suffice it to say, insulation is a quick, easy, consistent ROI.
 
I would advise against it. I have peeled many blankets off water heaters and they are rusted due to condensation.

Wrapping the pipes is a good idea.
 
I noticed a reduction in electric power used when the bottom element on my 4 year old water quit. We noticed a slight change form "limitless" hot water to less than limitless but easy to adjust to. I think the tank is two large for two people and just heating the top half is sufficient. May put in a smaller heater the next time - which I hope isn't for a while. I do have a spare element handy if the top one quits. This is a recent production heater with thick foam insulation. I have insulated the pipes on the hot water lines and also the pipes which feed the baseboard heating system. Just a thought, if you use electric heat, standard light bulbs contribute heat during the heating season at the same price as the electric baseboard.
 
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