Saving Money on Hot Water
There are several ways to reduce your water heating costs. In addition to cutting the demand for hot water, you can improve the efficiency of your existing water heating system. Some of these upgrades cost just a few dollars and will take you only a few minutes to complete — others require a larger investment and installation by a professional technician — but all will pay for themselves through reduced utility bills during the normal lifespan of your water heater.
A great deal of energy and water is wasted — literally going down the drain — while you wait for hot water to reach the sink or shower. Insulating your hot water pipes will help reduce heat losses as the hot water flows to your faucet or shower head, and it will help minimize standby losses when the tap is turned on more than once an hour. Even with insulated pipes, the water eventually will cool — but the water will stay warmer longer than it would if the pipes were not insulated.
Your hot water system is a good candidate for pipe insulation if:
You use water frequently throughout the day.
The water pipe runs in your home are long.
The pipes pass through an uninsulated crawl space or basement.
These types of water pipe insulation are available.
Fiberglass batts. These thin bats come on a roll, and wrap the pipe, securing the batt in place with tape as you go.
Foam or fiberglass tape. Both types come on a roll, and they’re self-adhesive so they’ll stick in place as you wrap the pipes.
Foam or synthetic rubber tubes. Commonly sold in six-foot lengths, these tubes are split lengthwise so all you do is slip them over the pipes and secure them. Some types are held in place with zip ties or tape, while others include self-adhesive strips along their cut lines. Rigid foam tubes usually have a higher insulation factor than the less-expensive flexible foam tubes, but the flexible ones are easier to trim and cut for corners or T-joints in your pipe runs.
Before you go shopping, measure the length and diameter of the water pipes you want to insulate. You may need a couple of sizes if you’re planning to insulate both the main hot water supply line and the branch lines to individual fixtures and appliances. At the store, you’ll need to balance cost, convenience of installation and insulation factor: for example, even though fiberglass insulation may have a higher R-value than foam tubes, it costs more and will take longer to install — and its payback period will be longer.