Eco-Remodelers

Your water heater uses almost 20% of your home energy budget each year. Depending on the size and style of your water heater, you might be throwing away a lot of cash. If you heater is more than 5 years old, it might be a good idea to replace it. Newer models are more efficient than older ones.

But, a great way to go green and save money - no matter how old your water heater - is to wrap it up. A water heater constantly heats up water to make sure you have what you need… when you need it. All day long. This is very wasteful.

Today, they make insulation for your water heater. This works just like your house insulation works - it’s a barrier than keeps the heat inside the water heater. If the heat stays, it won’t need to turn on and heat up quite as often. That saves you money.

I installed a water heater insulation blanket today and I’ll start seeing savings very soon - probably on my next electricity bill. The kit only cost $20. It should pay for itself in a few months. And I put it on in less than 20 minutes.

HOW TO INSTALL WATER HEATER INSULATION

You can pick up the kit at any home improvement store. They’re in the water heater section. There are several types and several R-values. The higher the R-value, the more protection (and thickness) you’ll get. I picked up an insulation kit that has an R-11 value.

My heater is an electric model with a 50 gallon capacity. The kit comes with the insulation blanket and tape to seal it up. I laid the blanket on the floor to inspect it and find the tab. There is a section of vinyl at the top that creates a tab. The tab will then be taped down to the top of the water heater.

Next, I wrapped the blanket around the heater to make sure it fit and to find the spots where I need to cut out sections that expose controls, valves, etc. Make sure you read the insulation kit instructions for your type of water heater and follow those. There are more restrictions for gas heaters, according to my kit.

I cut out some tape sections and used them to hold the blanket on the heater. All my cuts worked well and the water heater controls were properly in view. I used a long section of tape from top to bottom to create a tight seal. And next I taped the tab down to the top of the heater.

And that’s it. With insulation on my heater, I hope to cut my water heating bill by 5% to 10%. Not much, but it’s all part of the green renovation. Adding everything together and the money will add up.

Caught up in my birthday and the holidays, so not much time to post. Happy holidays to everyone!

Dreaming of a Green Christmas?

With all the shopping, holiday parties, and traveling around many people forget about going green this time of the year.

There are a few things that I can think of to help make it a more sustainable and Earth-friendly holiday season:

• If you still have time, try making only one or a few shopping trips to one location instead of driving all over town. It saves you gas money and reduces your carbon emissions.
• Ordering online and having it delivered might not be the best green choice, because you’re still creating a big carbon footprint by having large trucks, airplanes, and small trucks ship your packages all over the country.
• Buy local - deliver local. If you can find a local company to buy gifts from, you’ll be making a big impact. And, if you can, order a gift for someone from a company local to your friend or family member and have it delivered.
• Be creative with your wrapping of presents. Do you need to buy up a lot of wrapping paper, tape and boxes to cover up your presents? Re-use, recycle and pre-cycle! We try to re-use a lot of gift bags so that we’re not buying more or wasting paper. You could also make a “present box” that is covered with old holiday paper but that is easily opened. It can be used again next season!
• Put your holiday lights on a timer. Set the timer to only run during evening but shut off by 11pm or midnight. There’s no need to leave the lights on all night long while most people are sleeping… and I’m sure your neighbors would love you more without the bright lights shining in all night.

And, my favorite method of being green during the holidays! Re-gifting! Get something you don’t like this Christmas? Save it for the next birthday or holiday season and give it away again! You don’t need to go shopping, you don’t need to spend any money, and you’ve already got a few gift bags left over from this year’s celebrations!

The perfect solution!

Have you got any more ways to be green during the holidays?

Photo courtesy of Phillyburbs.com