Water Heater on/off timer install

[Beefer]

In an attempt to reduce energy usage, I picked up a water heater timer. Question I have is, the water heater is not hard-wired, it's plugged in (?). Do I splice the cord into the timer, then plug it back into the wall outlet, or what?

 

[rbh]

Re: Water Heater on/off timer install

220 VAC timer??

Did you look at wrapping the tank with a insulated jacket and wrapping the pipes with the foam covers first?

 

[Beefer]

Re: Water Heater on/off timer install

It doesn't get really that cold here, (W FL), and I think the timer will be a better option.

 

[bigdee]

Re: Water Heater on/off timer install

it is debatable whether this will save enough money to be worthwhile. Water heaters are pretty well insulated and if use the additional insulation kit you will have negligible thermal loss during the the short time you are not using hot water. If you are not going to use hot water for several days a timer will save money. I turn off my water heater at my vacation home when I leave and when I come back a week later I still have lukewarm water! Insulating your pipes will save you more money.

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: Water Heater on/off timer install

I have one on mine. Since it is just my wife and me, I only have it on for 4 hours a day. From 5pm to 9pm. It did cut our bill back 40 to 50 dollars a month.

BTW A mandatory shower sharing helps also

 

[dingbat]

Re: Water Heater on/off timer install

I have one on mine. Since it is just my wife and me, I only have it on for 4 hours a day. From 5pm to 9pm. It did cut our bill back 40 to 50 dollars a month.

Sounds like your due for a more energy efficient HW heater. I spend maybe $40-$45 a month with two teenage daughters in the house. Runs 24/7.

 

[bassman284]

Re: Water Heater on/off timer install

Sounds like your due for a more energy efficient HW heater. I spend maybe $40-$45 a month with two teenage daughters in the house. Runs 24/7.

Yeah, you got something wrong there.

My summer gas bill runs about $14-15 a month. I shower at least 6 days a week and run my dishwasher about once a week. Do some daily sink washing as well. The biggest part of the bill is a $10.00 "Basic Service Charge" so the actual gas is $4-5. This is a 13 year old water heater with no jacket or timer.

Even in winter, my highest bill was about $110 (townhouse condo, interior unit).

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: Water Heater on/off timer install

Yeah, you got something wrong there.

My summer gas bill runs about $14-15 a month. I shower at least 6 days a week and run my dishwasher about once a week. Do some daily sink washing as well. The biggest part of the bill is a $10.00 "Basic Service Charge" so the actual gas is $4-5. This is a 13 year old water heater with no jacket or timer.

Even in winter, my highest bill was about $110 (townhouse condo, interior unit).

Yes I agree,,,GAS is a whole lot cheaper than ELECTRIC which I have. I apologize to the OP for this thread beginning to become hijacked. Beefer's question was about the heater not being hard wired which tells me it is an electric one.

FWIW, Two and half years ago, my bill was always between 200 to 250 a month. I had two old freezers, 2 old refrigerators, incadecent lights, quartz lights outside, no timer on the heater, welder, air compressor, A/C, dehumidifier, washer/dryer, and numerous electronic gadgets that is plugged in all the time. After going on a kick of doing things to lower our electric bill, it is now averaging between 50 to 70 a month. Plus our utilitiy company has the highest rates in the country. We DID get a letter from the electric company congratulating us on drastically lowering our bill.

A electric water heater can account for 60% of your bill.

 

[bassman284]

Re: Water Heater on/off timer install

OK SS, missed that somehow. Yeah, electric is a whole different animal.

 

[bigdee]

Re: Water Heater on/off timer install

From Energy Efficiency & Environmental News:


WATER HEATER TIMERS VS. INSULATED

WATER JACKETS IN TERMS OF COST AND

ENERGY SAVINGS

Tests and analyses conducted determined it is much more cost effective to install an

insulated water heater jacket than to install a water
heater timer.
The energy saving analysis on water heater timers

was done based on a straight electrical resistance
water heater which was considered the best system for

energy savings. The maximum expected saving using
a timer to turn off the water heater 18 hours per day

would be about $22.09 per year for two people using
about 40 gallons of water per day. This results in a

simple payback of about 4.5 years. A simple payback
less than 7 years is considered cost effective. So

under these conditions the payback is good.
However, for a family of four using about 80 gallons

of water per day, the saving is much less, or about
$12.27 per year. This results in a simple payback of

about 8.1 years. This payback is not considered cost
effective. The analysis was based on electric rate of

7.5 cents per kilowatt hour. If a time of day rate is
offered which makes night electric rate lower than 4.5

cents then the payback could drop to 7 years or less
if the water heater is turned on only at night.

The energy saving analysis on water heater jackets
was also based on a straight electrical resistance water

heater which was also considered the best system for
energy savings. Installing a typical water heater jacket

with an insulation value of R-6 will save an average of
about $19.20 per year for two people and only slightly

less for a family of four. This savings results in a very
attractive payback of only 6 months.

 

[Fishing Dude too]

Re: Water Heater on/off timer install

Use to have a electric co H2O heater that heated only at night saved about $20 a month. It went bad program had stopped so bought a H2o heater that could be programed this way save about $30 a month as best I can tell. Only draw back is you can run out of hot water on the weekend but I can over ride the timmer.

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: Water Heater on/off timer install

One of my ex-FIL's worked for Central Maine Power. He had a electric meter on each of his circuits. I took a shower one day at his house. He came home from work, checked his meters and wanted to know who took a shower. He was able to tell what each appliance consumed. It was him that told me on how much a electric water heater used in conjunction with all other appliances.

In BigDee's post, there is many variables that they don't mention. Location, ambient temp, wattage, water quality. Then there is how often water was drawn from the heater.

All I know is when my bill was super high, the water heater was the first thing I put on a timer. The first 3 months did drop my bill down from 250 to 200. I also dropped the temp from 145 to 130.

Being energy conscience is very important also to develope new habits on when to use your appliances. For example, we do our cooking before the water heater kicks on. By the time we are done with dinner, it is after 5pm. Then we wait until until 5:30 to wash the dinner ware. We take our shower around 7 pm.

We have one of those demad meters, as long as we can keep that needle way down, then our bill stays at a lower rate.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Water Heater on/off timer install

From Energy Efficiency & Environmental News:


WATER HEATER TIMERS VS. INSULATED

WATER JACKETS IN TERMS OF COST AND

ENERGY SAVINGS

Tests and analyses conducted determined it is much more cost effective to install an

insulated water heater jacket than to install a water
heater timer.
The energy saving analysis on water heater timers

was done based on a straight electrical resistance
water heater which was considered the best system for

energy savings. The maximum expected saving using
a timer to turn off the water heater 18 hours per day

would be about $22.09 per year for two people using
about 40 gallons of water per day. This results in a

simple payback of about 4.5 years. A simple payback
less than 7 years is considered cost effective. So

under these conditions the payback is good.
However, for a family of four using about 80 gallons

of water per day, the saving is much less, or about
$12.27 per year. This results in a simple payback of

about 8.1 years. This payback is not considered cost
effective. The analysis was based on electric rate of

7.5 cents per kilowatt hour. If a time of day rate is
offered which makes night electric rate lower than 4.5

cents then the payback could drop to 7 years or less
if the water heater is turned on only at night.

The energy saving analysis on water heater jackets
was also based on a straight electrical resistance water

heater which was also considered the best system for
energy savings. Installing a typical water heater jacket

with an insulation value of R-6 will save an average of
about $19.20 per year for two people and only slightly

less for a family of four. This savings results in a very
attractive payback of only 6 months.

I installed a new Digital HW heater last week. They advised against the use of an insulating blanket. The tank came from the factory with sufficient insulation. They suggested insulating the piping and installing heat trap fittings instead.

Electric home - $0.10 per KWH

 

[dingbat]

Re: Water Heater on/off timer install

In BigDee's post, there is many variables that they don't mention. Location, ambient temp, wattage, water quality. Then there is how often water was drawn from the heater.

Household - 2 adults / 2 teenage girls
Appliances: 3 full baths - washer - dishwasher - humidifier
Draw off: thru-out the day

Location: Basement
Ambient: ~64-72 degrees
Water: Well ~50-55 degres year round
Insulated Plumbing: ~ 70%

Wattage: 4500W
First hour rating: 65 gallons
Water temp: 120 degree
Rated: 4280 KWH per year

Cost: $0.10 per KWH ~$36 per month

 

[Beefer]

Re: Water Heater on/off timer install

Ok, a lot of great info has been posted, except to answer my original question...

Yes it's electric. It is not wired directly to the breaker. There is an outlet that the power plugs into (not my doing). To wire in the timer, should I/would you just splice into the plug wire?

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: Water Heater on/off timer install

Ok, a lot of great info has been posted, except to answer my original question...

Yes it's electric. It is not wired directly to the breaker. There is an outlet that the power plugs into (not my doing). To wire in the timer, should I/would you just splice into the plug wire?

You can cut the plug off and wire it right into the timer, or get a plug and female connetor to put on the timer. If some reason you need to bypass the timer due to it failing, you then can plug your water heater back in. Just make sure the plug,connector, and timer is sized according to the amp draw.

 

[bigdee]

Re: Water Heater on/off timer install

Why not find a solution to the real problem? How old is your water heater? Simply turning off the heater will not prevent the thermal loss...you are still losing all that energy that you paid for to heat the water in the first place and then paying again to reheat the water. More insulation and possibly moving the WH into a conditioned space and insulating your hot water pipes would increase efficiency and save you more than a timer. Years ago I put timers on my WHs ( I have two in this house) at first it seemed I was saving (psychological ) then I hooked up a data logger and was surprised to see a savings of just a few dollars a month. One of the WH, is in the crawl space and it showed the greater saving, the other WH is in the house and showed only negligible savings. Washing clothes in cold water and flow restrictors in the shower heads will save a significant amount. If your WH is pre 1998 you should consider replacing it.

 

[jeffnick]

Re: Water Heater on/off timer install

I use a timer on my boat water heater so I don't inadvertently overload the generator when I run other appliances.

 

[hrdwrkingacguy]

Re: Water Heater on/off timer install

What I would do if the cord is long enough is cut it and use two of These and mount the box on the wall...Or use one of those in the side and a attach the timer box to the water heater with a chase nipple in the hole the wire comes through now...If its a two pole single throw timer you wire one leg to each side...If its a single pole timer you will have one line thats hot all the time...

BTW I hope I helped to answer the original question.

oops post is over a month old...thought it looked familiar but didn't notice at first...