Best Green Living

Shower Vs Bath
A bath generally uses more hot water than a shower. A bath takes 15-25 gallons of hot water whereas a shower takes 10-15 gallons. You can compare the amount of water used in a shower to that of a bath by closing the drain before showering. If your tub is less full after a shower than it would have been after a bath, then you know you can save hot water by showering. If it’s just as full, or even fuller, you may want to stick to baths or take shorter showers. When showering, turning off the water while soaping up is an effective way to reduce consumption.

Cold Water Wash – Laundry
The clothes washer is second only to bathing in consumption of hot water. A standard size clothes washer uses about 25 gallons of hot water when operated in hot wash/warm rinse mode. A large capacity washer can use as much as 40 gallons of hot water.

One approach to reducing demand is to use a warm wash/cold rinse setting on your washing machine. This can save about 65 percent of the energy you would use with a hot wash/warm rinse. You should note that perspiration and oily stains can be difficult to remove from synthetic fabrics without hot water. Also, in addition to cleaning, hot water helps destroy bacteria.

Using cold water only for washing can be appropriate for some loads. This setting offers the greatest savings since no hot water is used. It is important to use a suitable cold water or liquid detergent for best results.

When shopping for a new washing machine, look for an energy-efficient, low water volume model.

Washing Dishes
Automatic dishwashers use about 10-15 gallons per load. Washing dishes by hand may use less or more than this depending on how careful you we. Newer, efficient dishwashers use as little as 5 gallons per load, so it pays to shop. To conserve energy, only use the dishwasher when it’s fully loaded, and use the air-dry cycle. The dishes will dry from the heat of the washer. Don’t pre-rinse dishes just scrape clean and load.

Conserve Water When Using Your Washing Machine
Wash clothes in cold water when you can, or use the cold setting during the rinse cycle.

Use the lowest water level setting for the amount of clothes you are washing.

Hot Water Heater
Adding a blanket to your hot water tank is an easy do-it-yourself job that can save you money on water-heating bills. Be careful not to insulate too close to intake or exhaust vents on gas water heaters.

Increasing Water Heating Efficiency

In addition to reducing the demand for hot water, there are a number of measures you can take to improve the efficiency of your hot water system.

Set Back the Water Heater Thermostat
If your water heater was purchased prior to 1984, it’s likely that the thermostat is set higher than this, probably between 140°F and 150°F. You should set it back if this is the case. Most people shower at a temperature of 105°F, so a setting of 120°F will still require mixing with cold water for a comfortable temperature.

Hot water temperatures greater than 120°F are not necessary and should be reduced for several reasons:

It can cause scalding. Children and seniors are most often scalded. Scalding occurs in: 2 seconds at 150°F, 30 seconds at 130°F, 15 seconds at 140°F, 10 minutes at 120°F

It causes the water heater to lose heat at a much greater rate than would occur if the temperature was kept lower; and

It increases the rate of corrosion on internal fittings and other surfaces.

By setting back the thermostat to 120°F (down from 150°F), energy demand is reduced by 15 percent.

You can reduce energy demand and increase safety by setting back the thermostat on your hot water heater to 120°F. (If your water heater was purchased before 1984, It’s likely that the thermostat was set higher than 120°F.)

Insulate Your Water Heater
Older water heaters lose heat quickly because they contain only an inch or two of fiberglass insulation (R-5). To reduce heat loss, they should be wrapped with an additional fiberglass insulation.

Insulating kits can be purchased at home supply and hardware stores, and some electric utilities will install them at no charge for customers. Most have an insulating value of R-11 and will save $20-$28 per year at current rates.

Rigid foam board insulation placed under the water heater can further reduce heat loss. About two inches of extruded polystyrene board is recommended since it resists compression and does not absorb water.

Gas water heaters should be wrapped with insulation specifically made for gas water heaters. These kits are designed so that they won’t block the air intake and insulation will not come in contact with the flue. This is essential for proper functioning of the heater and to avoid a fire hazard.

Insulate Pipes
Your house is a good candidate for pipe insulation if you use water frequently throughout the day, if the pipe runs are long, or if they pass through an insulated crawlspace or basement. It is necessary to wrap hot water pipes only. Pipe insulation comes in different forms:

Closed-cell flexible foam tubes (R-3 to R-5);

Rigid foam (R-7); and

Fiberglass batts (R-11).

Other Water Heating Alternatives
If you have already taken basic hot water conservation measures, and seek further reductions of your hot water bill, other water heating alternatives may be considered. These include tempering tanks and demand water, heat pump, solar, and wood-fired water heaters. In general, these systems are most cost-effective in new homes or for families using greater than average quantities of hot water.

Anti Convection Valves
If the hot and cold water outlet and inlet run vertically up from the water tank convection up these pipes causes heat loss when the tank is not being used. To reduce heat loss, anti convection valves, essentially tiny ball check valves, can be purchased at plumbing outlets and installed on both the inlet and outlet of the water heater. You may need a plumber to install them for you. If so, wait until other plumbing work needs to be done. This will save on costs.

Water Heater Timers
Timers are not very effective at reducing energy use unless time of use (or “peak”) rate structures are in use. Washington does not have these rate structures. Also, if the tank is well insulated, the savings from timers would be relatively small.