My tank is stuffed in a cubby with nearly zero clearance. I bought a blanket a couple years ago and returned it when I discovered the clearance. This home is new (6 years I think). I'm pretty sure there is near zero heat loss and a high efficiency heater in there. I IR'd the tank jacket in several places and it was same temp as interior wall. The cubby is actually cooler than the interior of the house when I pull the panel off. That fact alone kinda tells me there is minimal if any heat loss. I did however insulate the exit lines out of the tank. That pipe insulation is the most dirt cheap/easy way to save some $. I think it was $.99 per 4 or 5 ' length. NO BRAINER !
I hear you on the entrance temp/volume helping (mostly benefiting in summer ) - though most folks are taking cooler showers around that time. Have you checked the upper & lower thermostats? - adjusting them a few degrees could help a bit as well(1-3%/degF). Check hot water at your kitchen tap(as that's where you'll use it non-mixed rinsing dishes etc) Temperature overshoot will have more to do with deadband on the t-stats(the time between make/break). A rule of thumb is 120F top & bottom, if you run out of hot water raise the upper to 125 and retest - or leave it that way and tell them to take shorter showers. The numbers on them are a rough gage, you could be overheating water 5-10F and then mixing it with cold water at the shower, of course using a bit less hot volume, but the lower t-stat doesn't care incoming water @100F will kick it on, just take less kwhr's to achieve the desired setpoint HWH's will cycle during the non use times - this is where the t-stat deadband(it's not adjustable , inherent, and different in every switch) will have the negative effect of overshoot. You haven't even begun to think about lights being left on everywhere ......My GF's clothes are afraid of the dark as I always find the closet light left on
The first thing i do when i get home from work is a light check! There is always more than one on. But dinner is usually ready so....
YUP,,, this thing is getting built SOON. MY July/August electric bills are usually $45 average just me. My July bill with 3 more manimals in the house was $137 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I should be able to shave off $30/month pretty easy.
Buddy of mine had an old 75' garden hose he carefully stranded back and forth in front of his deck, on the south side of his house. It had direct sunlight most of the day. He tied it into his shower's hot water line after a shutoff from the water heater (elec shut off)... said, if he'd start and stop the shower when needed, instead of running it the whole time, the water was plenty warm enough to even keep his honey warm. And... having a warm honey is....... priceless...
