We heard about this idea from HomesteadingToday.com. We thought it was a great idea, so when we hit up Home Depot several months ago, we bought a timer for our hot water tank.
It costs us $60....paid for itself in the first 3 months!
We have ours set so it comes on from 8am - 10am....yes that's right, only 2 hours out of 24! Keep in mind there are only two people living here (usually, lol).Also, the Gman says it really helps that we have a very good quality hot water tank - a John Woods. Also, since the people who built the house had a total of 8 folks here, it is a Big tank - 60 gallons....
We figured out WHEN during the day we needed the most hot water....for us, it's early - mid morning times....that's when we're busy in the kitchen. And if I have laundry to do, I almost always do in the morning.
If you figure out When you need hot water the most, you can set up your timer to best suit your needs....
Our timer has already paid for itself, and now, everytime we get a Hydro bill...well, it's lower than it used to be! And you know, I still have nice hot water in the taps when we make dinner!
When we moved up here, we had to buy a new washer and dryer. We bought a front loader washer....mainly because they use Soooo much less water. Another bonus is that when the wash cycle finishes, the clothes are so much drier than with a top loader....that should have decreased actual dryer time.
But it was only a couple of months later, I started thinking about the cost of running the drier whenever I did laundry. So, next time we went to town, I bought two of these.....they were half off, paid $18 total.I use them ALL the time. As a matter of fact, I think the dryer has been used maybe 20 times since we moved here, and that is mostly when the parental units come, stay for a couple of weeks, and do their laundry.
I set up the drying racks upstairs in one of the spare bedrooms.....leave the door open. With our woodstove going constantly at this time of year, and with heat rising....the clothes are dry in no time. The racks can hold an amazing amount of laundry too...I can easily hang two loads onto each rack....
During the summer, when we don't use the woodstove, the clothes still dry pretty quick. Mind you, I don't wash clothes and then Need Them Right Now....I'll hang them up one day, and then fold them the next.....easy....
2 comments:
Was it hard to install?
I hang my clothes out to dry, but I stoped now cause its cold. I need to start doing that. They will dry in the cold just as well
and there wont be bugs on them!
Hi Krissy....Gman says it is no harder to do than installing a light switch...altho of course electrical work has to be done.
It took him less than an hour, so even if you had to hire in someone to do it, you would pay the cost off quite soon!
Cheers,
Annie
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