Yes, a tankless water heater is truly one of those on-demand appliance, not drawing any power unless it’s on. Unless, of course, it’s one of those with an always on a digital readout – mine isn’t.
The wonderfully witty and idiosyncratic, James Therber, a popular writer in the 1930s, wrote a humorous story that included his wife’s fixation on the possibility that electricity leaked out of a lamp socket if a bulb wasn’t screwed in. Today, we can revisit that idea and say, yes Ms Therber, you were on the right track.
Take look around the house at all electrical equipment, especially appliances and computers that sleep with one eye open.
In the past these appliances used 5-10 watts of power – some, that were used infrequently, used more electricity when they were “turned off.” Better electronic efficiency has helped bring this “off” number down but we make up for it by acquiring more stuff. Some things, like chargers use electricity even when nothing is plugged in, you can check by feeling if they are warm to the touch.
If you look around the house you may be surprised at how many of these electrical vampires are sleeping in your house. Personally, I like for things to off when I’m not using them. Power strips come in handy for this. It’s worth thinking; they also serve as protection against power surges.
Here is a list of electronics that could be on while you sleep:
TVs
Clocks
Microwave
Answering machine
Phone charger
Cordless phone
Video game
Video players
PC
Router
Modem
Smoke detector
Garage door remote
Motion detector
Outdoor lighring
Baby monitor
Stereo
Coffee pot
Thermostat
Cable box
Using a national average of $0.14/kwh and 5-watts per appliance, the cost could be around $10.08 per month, more than I expected before I did the math. It’s not a lot but it’s a couple of Starbucks or power enough for a dozen hot showers a month from your electric tankless hot water heater.
There are other ways to save energy at home and live more efficiently by switching over to energy saver shower heads and aerators that will cut back on hot water use. You can visit this Department of Energy energy saver page for more tips. You can also visit this home tankless site if you’re not sure how a tankless water heater works. Now I need to get started on my windmill to power my on-demand hot water heater.