Switch can help on water heater
Home energy q & a

BY KEN SHEINKOPF Comments 1
Published: October 31, 2009

Q: We got back from our summer vacation last week and when I went to flip the breaker to turn our water heater back on, it wouldn’t work.

I know that electric water heaters like ours constantly cycle on and off to keep the water hot, so it’s always made sense to me to turn the breaker off when we’re away so we save energy. Now all of a sudden, the thing won’t come back on. Any idea on this?

A: Lots of people do what you have been doing, and it usually works for them … for a while. Sooner or later, something is going to break.

While it does make sense to turn off an appliance that will be using electricity while you don’t need it, circuit breakers and other controls like them just aren’t made to be frequently turned on and off.

Many people have a simple timer or an on-off switch put on their water heaters to do just what you want yours to do. If you’re away for a few days or longer, just flip the switch and the water heater won’t cycle on. If you’re only going to be away for a few days, my recommendation is to do nothing at all. If you’ll be gone for an extended vacation, that can make a difference if you turn off the unit, but I don’t think you should keep fiddling around with the circuit breaker. Get an electrician to put a timer or switch on the tank and use that instead.

You might think about other appliances and products you’ve got plugged in as well.

Ken Sheinkopf is a communications specialist with the American Solar Energy Society ( www.ases.org). Send your energy questions to askken@ases.org.