5 tips to use your water heater correctly to lower your electricity bill

Did you know that a water heater contributes to around 18% of your electricity bill costs? As much as it sounds convenient to heat water quickly and get warm water easily at dispense, the convenience comes with a heavy cost.

However, with the fast-paced lifestyles, a water heater or a geyser is a must in our households and makes for quite an unavoidable purchase in urban houses. But the rise in electricity bills due to water heaters is certainly a pinch in our pockets. But if used efficiently and smartly, water heaters can be a boon to you in terms of both convenience and budget.

Wonder how you can save up on electricity costs while also using the water heater? Read our top 5 tips to find out how to use your water heater correctly to lower your electricity bills.

Prefer Showers Over Hot Water Baths

Cut down on your habit of filling up water to the brim in your buckets and bathtubs and use showers instead. If you enjoy bathing under the shower with a continuous warm water supply, chances are, you might end up wasting more water and consume more electricity.
However, if you reduce your time in the shower and instead bathe in minimal time under the shower, you can reduce the amount of water and thereby the amount of electricity required to fill up the bucket or bathtub with warm water.

If you are used to taking a bath around once or twice a day, stick to a quick shower instead of a bucket bath to help save more electricity required for heating the water as well as saving water.

Turn off the shower when not required. This reduces the amount of water and the electricity needed to heat and supply the hot water while doing these sedentary procedures in the bathroom. Try applying soap and shampooing without using the water and water heater and see the difference in your electricity bills and water savings.

Alternatively, if the water in your bathroom tends to get cold too easily and too soon, try to keep the door completely sealed and closed. This makes sure you feel warm enough while having a bath and that you are forced to switch off the water heater.

Fix Your Water Heater

If nothing works, then it’s time to fix your water heater that comes equipped with most features like higher star ratings and insulated valves that can help you in lowering the costs of your electricity bills. Go for good quality and branded water heaters with high star ratings if the usage in your house is frequent and you are looking to save on electricity, you can learn more about the best water heaters on makeachoice.in.

Alternatively, installing solar water heaters also helps in saving costs on electricity bills as it uses the heat from the sun and not electricity to heat your water. You can also rely on alternative sources like natural gas water heaters that consume less energy and help in saving on costs. Go for high capacity insulated storage tanks that reduce your dependency on using the heater repeatedly for the demands of hot water.

Energy-Saving Appliances

Dishwashers and washing machines are other appliances apart from geysers that demand the use of hot water. Whenever possible, try using cold water instead of requiring a water heater to heat the water to wash your clothes or washing dishes. Hot water indeed helps in more efficient and thorough cleaning of appliances but if there is a minimal load of clothes, you can always use a cold washing cycle. When it comes to the dishwasher, load them to a full rack so there are no multiple cycles of hot water required to wash those dishes. Alternatively, you can choose to use shorter washing cycles. Look out for dishwashers that have booster heaters if you are looking to reduce your water heater bills. Prefer washing your dishes with hands using room temperature or cold water when feasible that helps in saving water but also cuts down on water heater and electricity bills. Energy-saving appliances are a lot helpful in cutting down your water heater usage and costs.

Insulation Helps!

Insulation is where you can save up on the heat so that it does not require reheating and your water can remain warm for quite some time. If you do not constantly reuse the water heater and store some hot water in the tank instead, you can easily end up saving up to Rs.1000-Rs.2000 on your electricity bills. The first option you can consider is installing heat traps.
Heat traps are nothing but special valves or loops of pipes that are installed in cold water inlets and hot water outlets to maintain the water temperature to remain warm when needed. The new range of water heaters has inbuilt heat traps or insulation valves installed within them.
You can also consider insulating the storage tank with the help of an expert and keep the water warm for a few hours. This will allow you to use hot water within a certain amount of time for as long as the insulation can keep the water warm in the tank. You will barely have to switch on the water heater, thereby reducing your usage and costs on electricity bills.

Another option is to insulate the starting points or the first few feet of the hot and cold water pipes so that it does not lose out on the temperature during inflow and outflow and thereby reduce your dependency on the water heater usage.

Low Flow Fixtures and Leakages

We all know how fast we need our water to flow considering the amount of time we run short on and need our buckets to fill almost rapidly. However, low flow fixtures can also be of help in saving electricity and water. We need to understand that the higher the flow rate of water, the greater would be the amount of energy that is required for heating the water.

Therefore, fixing taps that allow low flow rates are advisable be it in your sinks, or washbasins, or bathtubs. They help you in saving energy for heating as well as help in saving up on water as a natural resource. Try placing the tanks that are used at a minimum distance from the workstation.

This means, if the maximum usage of hot water might be at the sink or any other area in your kitchen or bathroom, make sure to place the storage tank and water heater close to that area so you avoid losing out on heat. This is because, the more distance the water has to cover, the more heat it ends up losing, and the more you would have to depend on the water heater to reheat your water.

Alternatively, if your water heater or the tap connected to the heater is leaking, it can lead to wastage of water as well as the energy required to heat the water. You would not only be wasting resources but also money on water and electricity bills. You can also control the temperature of your water heater and keep it fixed to a minimum to save energy.

Final Note

With increasing costs of resources and electricity bills, people are looking to cut down on expenses when it comes to running the house at low costs. Cutting down on water heater usage and using the water heater efficiently are one of the few ways to reduce the prices of electricity bills.
Therefore, if you are looking to get a water heater for your apartment, read our tips above to save more and use the heater efficiently.