- Fix plumbing leaks. Even a modest drip from a hot-water faucet can waste thousands of gallons of hot water per year. Fix leaks right away.
- Insulate the storage water heater. Insulating a hot water tank can significantly reduce its standby heat loss. Insulating an electric water heater is easier than insulating a gas water heater, because venting of the electric model is not required. Separate tanks used for indirect water heating (in which a zone off a boiler used for space heating circulates through a heat exchanger in a separate tank) should also be well-insulated.
- Insulate hot water pipes. Water sitting in insulated hot water pipes between uses will not cool as quickly, so hot water use will be reduced some of the time.
- Install heat traps. Heat traps are one-way valves or piping loops that reduce the thermosiphoning of hot water within hot water delivery pipes. Some water heaters may incorporate heat traps; if not, the heat traps can be added at the time a water heater is installed.
