Simple No Cost Actions for Winter

Check your hot water heater’s temperature. If you have a dishwasher you can heat it up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit (49 degrees Celsius). If you don’t have a dishwasher you can keep it lower. Try lowering it to 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46 degrees Celsius). In some homes, those savings have amounted to more than 10-12% of the total energy usage.

Use a hot water heater blanket. If your water heater is in an unheated space like an unfinished basement, wrap it in an insulation blanket to prevent heat loss. They cost about $40 and can be found at your local home improvement store.

Clean or replace your filter every month. A dirty filter makes your furnace work harder, which uses more electricity. Your home improvement store sells permanent filters that you can wash so you don’t have to replace the filter each month. Changing your filters can save you up to $60 a year on heating costs.

Dust and vacuum those radiators and vents. Dust acts as a great insulator and will actually stop the heat from getting to where you need it.

Don’t empty the bath until the water has cooled down. The heat will dissipate into the air. It will also add needed humidity in those winter months.

Open the stove door after cooking. By leaving the oven door open slightly after you have used it to cook you will allow all the heat to move into the room versus it staying put inside your insulated oven.

Use an old towel to block the air at the bottom of the door at night. Putting an old rolled up towel along the base of your door or windowsill will block any drafts from coming through.

See our SAVING $ tab for more ideas.

Endless Hot Water!

Continuous hot water, shower after shower! The more hot water you need, the more you need this water heater, like Vertex. Through an inspired blend of innovation, efficiency and years of industry expertise, the A. O. Smith company has created a family of state-of-the-art products that provide a long-lasting supply of hot water during those times when everyone in your home needs it most. Vertex™ power direct-vent gas water heaters take high-demand homes to the pinnacle of hot water availability. Vertex offers up to 96% thermal efficiency with performance that rivals much larger water heaters. With its fully-condensing design, Vertex delivers “continuous hot water” – shower after shower, hour after hour. And it’s easy to install, with dimensions and installation requirements comparable to standard power direct-vent units.

• Unprecedented levels of performance – 96% thermal efficiency.
• Continuous hot water – shower after shower, hour after hour.
• An advanced internal heat exchanger with 100,000 BTU input, inspired by
  A. O. Smith’s time-tested Cyclone commercial design.
• Easy to install – dimensions similar to a standard 50-gallon power vent water heater.

Check with your local utility to see what rebates they offer for installing a new high efficiency water heater. Also there is a Federal Tax credit for doing this as well. Once you take these into account it makes switching out that old one for a new one an easier decision. For more information see their site at Vertex.