Fresh AIRE

Water Heater Wisdom (and Woes)

OK, so my husband and I aren't the handiest or most intuitive homeowners. We sure thought our basement was leaking from the rain again, like the flood of last summer -- maybe some of you remember that?! Then I realized (two days too late) after crawling around on the dirty basement floor and feeling around the bottom of the water heater: "Hmmm, there's a lot of water under this water heater... it's hot water. The water heater MUST be leaking." Duh.

Unfortunately, by the time I figured out we had a leaky hot water heater, half the carpet in our basement was soaked through -- causing nearly $700 damage in carpet drying fees/pad replacement. Enough of the my woes, though, let me get to the wisdom.

We had to replace our 19-year-old, 40-gallon gas water heater -- and pretty fast. Trying to be a good environmentalist, I quickly went to the Energy Star website to find out what kind of energy-efficient model we could get. No luck. That's one of the only appliances the Energy Star program doesn't address yet.

Then the plumber said, "What size do you want? A larger, 50-gallon model would only be $100 more." And man, I almost went for it ... no more running out of hot water when visitors come to stay with us! Then a tiny shred of common sense hit me: If I buy a larger unit I'm just making the problem worse...spending more energy to heat more water that I only occasionally use. Did you know water heating represents between 13-17% of national residential energy consumption?!

We made our decision -- we'll stick with another 40-gallon water heater. We don't really need the 50-gallon tank, and we don't want to expend the extra energy to get it.

P.S. I know we should have spent more time researching and trying to find an advanced technology (tank-less, solar, etc.) to replace our water heater -- I do feel bad about that. Quite simply, we became a statistic. A quote from 2007 Energy Star report:

Historically, a number of barriers have prevented widespread success of advanced water heating technologies, with most of them related to one another. The most significant barrier is the nature of water heater replacement. Two-thirds of consumers replace their water heaters due to sudden failure of their existing model. Of those replacements, 60% are emergency replacements. When a water heater fails suddenly, most consumers have their water heater replaced with the cheapest, most readily available and easily installed model from their plumber or contractor. These circumstances do not encourage consumers to make the extra effort to track down hard-to-find advanced technologies or evaluate lifetime cost savings.

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Jennifer K. Smith, 18-year resident of Arlington
AIRE blog manager

Rule of Thumb #6 - Size Matters

When we bought our house in Arlington in 2000, our agent noted the outside air conditioner and commented, "I like to see these big air conditioners.  They really keep the house cool."  He was so very, very wrong.  His comment was the equivalent of saying, "I really like these big refrigerators.  They really keep your food cold."  Huh?  It's not the size of your refrigerator that determines how cold it is.

When it comes to central air conditioning, bigger is not better.  In fact, smaller is generally better for several reasons--particularly in a humid climate like this one.  EPA Energy Star has a fact sheet about this very topic.

Here's your simple test.  On the hottest days of the year--when it's 95 degrees or above-- note whether your air conditioner cycles on and off.  If it does, it's too big.  An air conditioner should be sized so that it runs continuously on the hottest days of the year, essentially from 3 or 4 in the afternoon until 8 at night nonstop.  (If it runs constantly all the time, even when it's only 80 and doesn't seem to cool your house, you have a different problem and need to get it looked at.)

What's the dif, you ask?  A larger air conditioner sucks up more energy, costing you dollars and adding to harmful emissions.  Air conditioners do their best job dehumidifying and reach peak efficiency after they have been running for about 10-15 minutes, so if yours is cycling on and off, it's not dehumidifying well and it's running at lower efficiency.  People with air conditioners that are too big often lower the temperature to make up for this, exacerbating the costs of running it.

Here's an analogy.  You're driving on a street with timed traffic lights. Having a too-big air conditioner is like having a muscle car and racing from one light to the next, then stopping, then racing to the next one.  A right-sized air conditioner is like having a smaller car, driving along at an even 25 mph and hitting the lights all green.  You get where you're going at the same time, but use less gas driving the smaller one at a steady speed.

So what do you do?  Well, don't go out and replace your AC unless you were planning to anyway.  But when you do, make sure you show the EPA fact sheet to your contractor and make him or her do an accurate sizing calculation.  Then don't be swayed into rounding up for safety's sake.  If anything, round down in size for comfort's sake.  (On a side note, your ductwork is probably all wrong, too, making the situation even worse.  Aargh!)

But for now, the thing to do is have your programmable thermostat raise the temperature while you are out and lower it just before you come back.  Then your AC will run longer and more efficiently for at least that one cycle, saving you money and dehumidifying better. 
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Steve Offutt, Arlington resident and Director - Arlington Initiative to Reduce Emissions (AIRE) .Transportation Projects

Lettin' It All Hang Out (to Dry)

Last spring, I gave up on my clothes dryer. Sure, it was working just fine. But given the recent attention to global warming -- and the blazing sun in my backyard -- I decided to go natural.

Instead of loading clothes automatically from the washer to the dryer, I put the damp clean laundry back in the laundry basket and carry it outside. We have a clothesline (see the photo -- that's our backyard!) and a freestanding clothes rack. I spend a few minutes with my wooden clothespins hanging clothes on the line (great upper body workout!) and laying them on the rack. I figure I save a few dollars a month on the electric bill.

On a sunny breezy day, it takes a little over an hour to dry a load of clothes. (In order to avoid embarrassment by various family members, I hang the "skivvies" and other “private” items on the clothes rack, so they're not as obvious to the neighbors.) My children have noticed how quickly the sun dries the clothes, and they've gotten interested in solar power. Plus, hanging sheets also offer a fun obstacle for the kids playing tag and hide-and-seek!

Since I started hanging it all out, my neighbor has even asked to borrow the clothesline a time or two. I suggested she string her own old-fashioned clothesline in her backyard. Trees, fences, shed corners, and porch posts make great places to attach a clothesline. I use a retractable line – a neat little device that rolls the line up when you are not using it. Clothes racks can be used outdoors or indoors. Both can be purchased at your local hardware store or in any big box store. 

The best thing about it all: our clothes, sheets, and towels all smell like sunshine, just like my Grandma’s used to!!

Joan Kelsch coordinates Arlington County’s Green Building Programs