WATER hE ATINg

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energy e\x4fciency \x4acts Water ,eatin+ is t,e *ourt, lar+est ener+y expense in your ,ome. It typically accounts *or about 13 percent o* your utility bill. For t,e avera+e Arkansas ,ouse,old, t,is could add up to $247 a year (see f+ure 1).

Even i* you aren 9t +oin+ to buy a new water ,eater, dis,was,er or was,in+ mac,ine in t,e near *uture, you can save ener+y and money by *ollowin+ a *ew simple su++estions suc, as: repair leaky *aucets and use less ,ot water. Water Heater Maintenance and Operation " Lower the temperature of your water heater between 110 °F and 120 °F (con*irm t,is by measurin+ t,e temperature at t,e tap wit, a candy t,ermometer). Not only does t,is save ener+y 4 a 10 de+ree reduction saves about 13 percent o* your water ,eatin+ costs 4 it also reduces t,e c,ance o* scaldin+, w,ic, can occur at temperatures above 125 °F.

" Wrap extra insulation around your water heater i* it *eels warm to t,e touc,. T,is inexpensive option can reduce water ,eatin+ costs by about 10 percent and ,as a payback o* less t,an one year. W,ile newer models may not need a blanket, older models made be*ore 1992 will probably ... more. less.

need extra insulation. Follow t,e easy-to-install instructions and note t,e di**erence between wrappin+ a +as and electric water ,eater. " Insulate all hot water pipes that you can see and reach. For easy installation, ask your ,ardware store about insulatin+ pipe sleeves. Reducing Hot Water Consumption Showers, Baths and Sinks: " Take more showers than baths. Bat,in+ and s,owerin+ require t,e most ,ot water use in t,e avera+e ,ouse,old (see f+ure 2). A bat, takes 15 to 25 +allons o* ,ot water, but a 5-minute s,ower uses less t,an 10 +allons. Arkansas Average Annual Utility Costs Source: Energy Information Administration 2001 Residential Energy Consumption Survey Applying 2007 Average Utility Costs Space Heating 22% Electric A/C 22% Water Heating 13% Refrigerators 10% Appliances & Lights 33% $412 $627 $193 $247 $422 *i+ure 1 Myths and Facts Myth: It takes less ener+y to boil water i* you start wit, ,ot water *rom t,e tap. Fact: It takes ener+y to make t,at tap water ,ot, t,ere*ore no ener+y was saved. In *act, it takes more ener+y *or your water ,eater to ,eat t,e water t,an it does *or your stove to brin+ cool water to a boil. Myth: You need really ,ot water to sterilize dis,es and clot,es. Fact: Even at t,e ,ottest settin+ on your water ,eater, dis,es and clot,es are not sterilized. Also, scaldin+ can occur at ,i+, temperatures and can cause injury. Myth: A little drip doesn 9t cost anyt,in+. Fact: Repair leaky *aucets promptly. A steady drip o* ,ot water can waste many +allons o* water per mont,, plus t,e ener+y needed to ,eat t,e water. FIX THE LEAKY FAUCET Cost o* a leakin+ ,ot water *aucet Drops/Second 0.51.01.52.0 Electric $/month $2.20$4.85$7.75$10.70 Gas $/month $1.35$2.90$4.70$6.45 Based on $0.10 per kW, (kilowatt ,our) o* electricity and $1.15 per t,erm o* natural +as. WATER hEATINg energy e\x4fciency \x4acts " Install water-saving or low-flow showerheads. I* your s,ower *ills a ,al*-+allon milk carton in less t,an 10 seconds, you are wastin+ ,ot water. Newer low-*low models +ive +ood results; t,ey reduce t,e volume o* water by as muc, as 50 percent wit,out reducin+ t,e water pressure. Installation is quick and easy. " Install low-flow aerators in bat,room and kitc,en *aucets. Low-*low aerators allow *or a stron+ *low w,ile usin+ muc, less water and are very inexpensive and easy to install. For maximum e**iciency, purc,ase aerators t,at ,ave *low rates o* no more t,an 1.0 +allon per minute (+pm). For a *amily o* *our, t,is can save up to 8,500 +allons o* water a year. Clothes Washing: " Set the water level on t,e was,in+ mac,ine to suit t,e size o* t,e load 4 you will save bot, water and ener+y. Was,in+ mac,ines use about 26 percent o* t,e ,ot water in most ,omes. " Wash your clothes in cold water usin+ cold-water deter+ents w,enever possible. About 90 percent o* t,e ener+y used *or was,in+ clot,es is *or ,eatin+ t,e water. I* you must use a warm-was,/cold-rinse settin+ on your was,in+ mac,ine, you can still save approximately 65 percent o* t,e ener+y you would use wit, a ,ot-was,/warm-rinse settin+. Dishwashing: " Run the dishwasher only when it is full. T,e dis,was,er uses t,e same amount o* water w,et,er it 9s ,al*-*ull or completely *ull. " Scrape, don 9t rinse. Studies s,ow t,at most people pre- rinse dis,es be*ore loadin+ t,em into t,e dis,was,er, even t,ou+, dis,was,ers purc,ased wit,in t,e last 5 to 10 years do a superb job o* cleanin+ even ,eavily soiled dis,es. I* you *ind you must rinse dis,es *irst, +et in t,e ,abit o* usin+ cold water. " Use the air-dry setting on your dis,was,er i* it ,as one. Select t,is instead o* t,e automatically selected ,eat-dry settin+. T,is can cut at least 15 percent o** t,e ener+y your dis,was,er uses. " Washing dishes by hand may or may not use less water t,an an automatic dis,was,er. I* was,in+ by ,and, use a sink stopper or dis,pan, run t,e ,ot water as little as possible, and w,en practical, rinse t,e dis,es in cold water. Replacement Considerations " Always look for ENERGY STAR ® appliances. W,en buyin+ an appliance, remember t,at it ,as two price ta+s: t,e purc,ase price and w,at you pay *or t,e ener+y it uses over a 15 to 20 year li*e. ENERgY STAR ® quali*ied appliances incorporate advanced tec,nolo+ies and will pay *or t,emselves wit, lower mont,ly utility bills. " When shopping for a new dishwasher, look *or t,e ENERgY STAR ® label 4 t,ese e**icient models use at least 41 percent less ener+y t,an t,e *ederal minimum standard *or ener+y consumption. " When shopping for a new washing machine, look *or t,e ENERgY STAR ® label 4 t,ese use 25 to 60 percent less ener+y compared to standard models. Select a was,in+ mac,ine t,at allows you to adjust t,e water temperature and level. Front-loadin+ mac,ines use less water and ener+y t,an top-loadin+ models. Look *or t,e model t,at uses t,e least amount o* water. " Use the EnergyGuide label to compare estimated annual operatin+ costs o* a new water ,eater. Remember t,at t,e purc,ase price is just a cdown payment. d recycled paper & soy ink T,is Fact S,eet was developed *or Ener+y E*fciency Arkansas (EEA), a partners,ip between t,e Arkansas Ener+y O*fce and Arkansas 9s investor-owned electric and +as utilities and electric cooperatives, to provide Arkansans wit, unbiased in*ormation about cost e**ective ener+y e*fcient practices, improvements and tec,nolo+ies. For *urt,er in*ormation +o to www.EnergyE\xafciencyArkansas.org. WATER hEATINg Average Hot Water Use & Cost Source: Arkansas expenditures applied to national averages from U.S. Department of Energy, ENERGY SAVERS, Tips on Saving Energy & Money at Home Shower 37% Clothes Washer 26% Dishwasher 14% Bath 12% Sinks 11% $247 $91 $30 $27 $35 $64 *i+ure 2

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