When the cold winter weather arrives in Fort Worth, TX, many homeowners are concerned about the efficiency of their home heating systems. While this is certainly important, you don’t want to overlook your water heater. In fact, the cold weather can affect your water heater in a few different ways. We’ll explain the most common ones and what to do about them.
Tank Heat Loss
Probably the most obvious way that your water heater is affected by the cold weather is through heat loss at its tank. When the ambient temperature around your water heater drops, more of the heat from the water inside its tank will dissipate into the surrounding air. This will cause your water heater to run more often to keep the water in its tank at your desired temperature setting.
Water Supply Heat Loss
Another way that cold weather affects your water heater is through a drop in water temperature inside your hot water supply lines. When water leaves your water heater, it will flow through the hot water supply lines to all your plumbing fixtures and appliances. During its travel, the cold outside air can allow heat to dissipate from the water supply line.
This results in the overall temperature of hot water coming out of your faucets being colder than normal. This causes most homeowners to turn up the temperature on their water heater’s thermostat during the winter months. This way, the water leaving your water heater tank is hot enough that by the time it reaches your faucets, it’s at the temperature you’re used to. When you turn up the thermostat on your water heater, it increases its energy consumption and raises your energy bills.
Cold Incoming Water
When the temperature dips outside, it can cause the temperature of the water coming through your main water supply valve to dip. This makes your water heater have to heat up this water even more than usual to get it up to your desired temperature. Again, this leads to more energy usage and higher utility bills throughout the colder months.
Higher Water Consumption
In winter, your family is likely going to be spending a lot more time indoors. This fact along with colder temperatures tends to increase the demand for hot water. Additionally, you’ll likely wash dishes more often and have more laundry to do as you’ll be wearing more clothes throughout the winter. This all puts more strain on your water heater to perform.
Fortunately, there are things you can do to minimize stress on your water heater in winter. Here are some tips to try.
Avoid Excessive Wear and Tear
One of the most significant ways that your water heater is affected by winter weather is through excessive wear and tear. When your water heater has to run more often to keep up with your heating demands, it’s going to take a toll on its internal components. Overworking leads to shorten the system’s lifespan and increase the likelihood of it breaking down.
Use Insulation
One of the best ways to help control excessive wintertime wear on your water heater is to use insulation. You can put this on both your water lines and your water heater. There are insulating jackets that fit around your water heater and work to keep more of its heat inside.
Styrofoam insulation is a great choice for your hot water supply lines. By providing a layer of insulation, the water will lose less of its heat on the way to your plumbing fixtures. When water remains hot, it can eliminate the need to turn up the thermostat on your water heater.
Seal Off Air Leaks
Air leaks near your water heater can allow cold outside air to penetrate the space around the appliance. This leads to a lower ambient temperature and takes more heat out of your water heater’s tank.
A great way to eliminate this problem is to seal up any air leaks in that area. There are many tools that you can use, depending on the location. Spray foam, caulking, and weather stripping are all popular options.
Keep Your Heating System Running
Another thing you need to do to ensure optimal performance from your water heater is to keep your heating system running. It can be tempting to turn off your heating system when you know that you’re going to be away from home. However, this will allow the temperature in your home to drop. This will lead to more heat being removed from your water heater and entering the cold air. Instead, run your heating system continuously to keep a consistent indoor temperature.
Consider Upgrading
If you still rely on a tanked water heater setup, it may be time to consider an upgrade. At Cattlemans Plumbing, we can install a tankless water heater to help reduce your energy consumption during the winter months. These appliances work by heating only the water that’s about to be used.
Essentially, you turn on the hot water side of your faucet, and the water moving through the hot water supply line gets heated up by a tankless water heater. This is drastically different than a traditional tanked water heater. This is because the traditional option will continually reheat water in its tank to keep it up to your ideal temperature setting until you need to use it.
Get Professional Maintenance Service
One thing that you don’t want to overlook before the cold winter weather settles in is getting professional maintenance service for your water heater. This service will include things like checking electrical connections, determining the state of your anode rod, and flushing out excess sediment buildup.
By having all of these items checked, you can ensure that your water heater is operating at its peak efficiency level. Otherwise, you may be stuck with an inefficient water heater that can cost you more in energy costs to run.
Invest in a Water Softener System
With most of the country living in areas with hard water, it’s highly likely that you do, too. Hard water will not only shorten the lifespan of your water heater by causing excessive internal corrosion, but it will also reduce the efficiency of your water heater.
Water with a high concentration of mineral sediments, like calcium and magnesium, is much harder to heat than water that’s softer. Investing in a water softener system can help to reduce the mineral sediments in your water and help to increase the operating efficiency of your water heater.
Use Efficient Water Fixtures
Another thing to consider is to use more efficient plumbing fixtures. These include devices like faucet aerators, low-flow toilets, and low-flow showerheads. Many of these devices will allow you to enjoy the same level of comfort while simply using less hot water. The less often your water heater has to heat up water, the more energy you can save.
Call Us for Reliable Water Heater Service
Cattlemans Plumbing offers reliable water heater service for the Fort Worth community. We can also assist with all your commercial, construction, toilet repair, and plumbing needs.
Call Cattlemans Plumbing today to book a service call with one of our friendly plumbing professionals.
