Insulate electric water heater?
Sara Pancake| Posted inGeneral Questionson
Should I insulate my electric hot water heater tank? I have two (unfortunately) and one is in a conditioned space and the other is in a space that is kept ‘not freezing’ under the bathroom addition.
If so, how and how much? Should I wrap all the pipes (there’s nonfunctioning heat tape in place right now- I was going to remove that and put the foam around there.
Online I find yes, but I also find crawlspace venting and 2×4 studwalls built against concrete block in basements.
THANKS!
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Replies
How old are the water heaters? That is, are they well insulated from the factory? On my <10 year-old, mid-range insulated unit, it wouldn't pay back to add additional insulation (standby loss is ~1 kWh/day), but an old unit in unconditioned space might.
I would insulate all the hot water lines. I’d use the split pipe insulation and not the spiral wrap type though — the split type is much easier to install, especially in a confined space.
You should consider encapsulating your crawlspace and insulating it. That will help a lot with any freezing concerns for pipes in that space.
Bill
Why two different heaters in two different places?