[Greenbuilding] hot water heating options

[Robert Waldrop]

We installed a new electric 50 gallon tank, but 
had the electrician install an on-off switch for 
it, so we only turn it on when we need hot water. 
We bought the "middle price" version.  We are a 
two person household.  We generally only turn it 
on twice a week during the winter, about 2 hours 
each time.  During the summer, when we were using 
less hot water for showering, we turned it on only 
once each week.   We were very surprised the 
standby losses were so low on the electric tank. 
The first couple of weeks, I kept checking the 
switch to make sure it was off and even called the 
electrician to make sure the switch was working. 
He laughed and told me about the standby losses of 
electric tanks and told me the obvious test to see 
if the switch was operating (look at the electric 
meter when the switch was on and off). [icon of 
hand slapping forhead.]

During the winter, our electrical usage was 
generally in the range 450-500 kilowatt 
hours/month.  This is for lights, cooking, 
refrigeration/freezing, entertainment electronics, 
and hot water.  (We get most of our heat from the 
sun, and use wood for a backup on cloudy days).

We also installed a low flow showerhead and faucet 
aerators.  At the time we installed the hot water 
heater, we had been without running hot water for 
about a year, so I guess we also developed a 
thrifty attitude towards hot water.  Generally, in 
Oklahoma City, during the summer the city water is 
warm enough that hot water isn't needed for 
showers. We don't use air conditioning in the 
summer and so we aren't really interested in hot 
steamy showers in the summer anyway.

This was part of a full re-wire of the house, and 
the tank will work well with a solar hot water 
system when we get the resources for that.

If the electric water heater is on its own 
circuit, you can get the same effect by flipping 
the breaker, but ours are outside, and so we opted 
for an inside switch.

Bob Waldrop, Oklahoma City

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bambi Tran" <doingitgreen at yahoo.com>
>  Thanks for your suggestions. To clarify: The 
> house is currently unoccupied, but the 
> non-profit expects to sell it to a couple with 
> one or two kids. The laundry (washer/dryer) is 
> right next to the full bath on the second floor. 
> The half bath is right next to the kitchen on 
> the first floor. The half bath and full bath are 
> lined up vertically (more or less).
>
> We are leaning towards the tankless gas system, 
> but are concerned about the capacity 
> limitations. Anyone have experience with these 
> care to share?
>
>  Our second choice would be an electric tank 
> unit for it's efficiency and lower standby loss.
>
>  THOUGHTS???
>
>  Cheers,
>  Bambi
>