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OT--Want to monitor an electric water heater

chief mcgee

Aluminum
Joined
Apr 28, 2005
Location
south Alabama
With the price of natural gas going up, I am thinking of switching to an electric water heater. Local power company is offering free heater for switching. Now I know I will end up paying for it over time. I just want a way to keep track of the amount of power it consumes. Right now, my entire gas bill goes to the gas water heater. So, I know what it uses. But if I put in an electric heater, it’s power will be in the bill for the house and shop. Is there a way to monitor the electric heater to see exactly how much power it uses? Thanks
 
Interesting idea. I have the same problem with my home shop (getting back on topic
). I would like to know how much electricity I use to run the shop. That way when I have a paying job, I could know much to deduct from the profits for electricity.
 
You can estimate the cost difference without actually changing water heaters. 1 therm of natural gas is about equal to 29.3 KW/hours of electricity in heating capacity. Multiply the number of therms used per month by your water heater by 29.3 to obtain the number of KW/hours the electric heater will require...

Unless your power company charges less for 29.3 KW/hr than for 1 therm of natural gas, you're better off keeping your gas water heater.
 
I use a kilowatt hour meter to monitor my garage and shop. I obtained the meter from our local power company. I don't know if your electrical supplier would be willing to give you one for your intended usage or not. It will not hurt to ask. I am guessing that you will want to monitor 230vac single phase.

If you have a hard time getting a meter for the task I do have a couple of older meters that used screw terminals rather than plug and socket. I would be willing to part with one for 10 bucks plus shipping. These meters are in good usable shape. They were removed to upgrade the meters to the new socket type meter. My email address is [email protected] if you would like to contact me. Good luck. Charlie
 
Also FWIW we monitored the meter for my Dad's shop over the summer and the hot water heater used ZERO gas, the only hot water used was for 3 people to wash their hands a couple times a day, but the pilot light apparently would not cause the meter to move, and it's heat alone made up for the tiny amount of hot water used.

Bill
 
I am currently in the opposite situation. I have a 120 gallon water heater that is owned by my electric company and is rented to me at $16 per month. This is an off-peak water heater and I do recieve some sort of discount on my bill, but I do not know how that is calculated.

I have considered switching to some other type of water heater such as an on-demand propane fire unit. I wanted to figure any cost savings that may be invlolved.

I have not sat down and done any math yet, but what I did is this;

Installed a water meter on the supply to the hat water heater. Installed hour meters on each of the two heating elements in the heater. I think both parts are needed so that I can calculate how much electricity was used to heat a certain amount of water. Without knowing the gallons used, you are shooting in the dark.

The kill-a-watt meters are neat, but I do not think they will handle the power used by a water heater.
 
I'm with Bill. The heating element has a constant current while it is on so the simple timer connected in parallel should provide the answer.

KWH = 115 x I x Hours / 1000

I is the current it draws. It should be on the nameplate or you can measure it once with a clamp-on Amp meter. It won't change.

As for the zero gas thing, I doubt it. The pilot could never keep up so the flame almost had to come on once or twice each day, even with the best of insulation. I would bet that the amount was small and the meter probably registered in hundreds of cubic feet so you just recorded the same numbers. It really did creep up a bit. Or the meter could be defective.

Paul A.
 
There is a quick way to get an idea if you will save money or not.

Find out what brand and model water heater the power company is going to provide. It will have an energy cost label (or get the info from the mfg.) that tells what the average annual power consumption for that model is, and what the annual operating cost is, assuming electricity costs XX cents per kilowatt hour. Take the power consumption figure in KWH from that label info and multiply by your local provider's rate. Compare that to your annual gas bill.

Might be nice to keep the gas unit when the electric one is installed, and plumb so you can use either one, depending on lowest energy cost.
 
EPAIII said
As for the zero gas thing, I doubt it. The pilot could never keep up so the flame almost had to come on once or twice each day, even with the best of insulation
Interestingly enough, I have a gas water heater from 1983 or so. I went on vacation for 3 weeks, so to save gas I turned the gas heater to "pilot". When I came back I forgot, and assumed the water heater was going dead.ANOTHER thing to fix around the house! I was able to take several showers (just barely warmer than lukewarm) and did ok. Weird, huh? I finally remembered and turned the gas back on the thermostat on the front.
 
FWIW, another thing to consider when installing a electric hot water heater is that it can be wired to a timer to only be active during the hours and days you are open. saving big chunks of power.even yet another option is "0n-demand" type hot water heaters that are typically installed near the sink and only operate when water is actually flowing. :D
 
If your careful, perhaps you can save considerable money by staying with gas!

In the 1980's ,I had crews replacing gas services for Con Edison in Weschester N.Y. In one street, I beleive it was Mt. Vernon,we had a gas main traveling in the side walk, in a neigborhood of row houses and a home owner was watching us for the location of the main.
This industrious fellow broke thru his cellar wall and tunneled to the main, in hopes of getting free gas. Unfortunatly,he chose an electric drill to attempt to tap with.............BOOM!!!! :eek:
SOOO.......
Don't use sparking tools in an enclosed space when playing with gas. :D It would of worked if he was more careful..
 








 
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