Save on Water Heating Costs with These Tips

With Georgia's continuing drought, saving water is important. Reducing hot water use has the bonus of reducing water heating costs. Here are some tips for saving water and energy.

Repair leaky fixtures and pipes.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, a leak of one drip per second can cost $1 per month.

Find out how much water your fixtures use.

1. Get a one-gallon container or mark the one-gallon level on a bucket.
2. Place the container under the fixture and turn the water on all the way.
3. Time how long it takes to reach a gallon.
4. Divide the number of seconds by 60 to get the number of gallons per minute.
5. Then you can buy lower-flow fixtures to reduce your water use. One easy and cost-effective fix is faucet aerators with a flow rate below one gallon per minute. Just unscrew the aerator from the tip of the faucet and screw on a new one. Also, more efficient faucets with the Environmental Protection Agency's WaterSense® certification are now available.
   

Save hot water in the bathroom.

• Take short showers rather than baths.
• Use low-flow showerheads. Showerheads made before 1992 can be half as efficient as modern fixtures, which are required to have a flow rate of less than 2.5 gallons per minute.

Clean dishes with less water.

• If you have an energy-efficient dishwasher, wash full loads and choose energy-saving features, washing dishes in a dishwasher can use less hot water than washing by hand.
• Don't rinse dishes before they go into the dishwasher. Most manufacturers suggest just scraping the food off.

Wash clothes efficiently.

• Use cold water to rinse clothes.
• Choose a cold-water wash using a detergent formulated for cold water.
• Select a water level that matches the size of the load.
• When replacing your washer, consider front-loading machines, which use less water than top-loading washers.

If you're buying new dishwashers, clothes washers or water heaters, look for the ENERGY STAR® label to find more efficient models or consider solar water heating.