Hot water heating is second-largest energy expense in your home, after heating and cooling. According to ENERGY STAR, water heating represents about 14 percent of your monthly electric bill. It makes sense considering you likely use hot water on a daily basis to wash dishes, do laundry or shower. You won’t be able to eliminate your hot water heating expenses altogether, but you can still find savings. If you try these energy saving methods, you could save more than $100 a year on your electric bill.

1. Install a low flow shower head. Using less hot water is a surefire way to lower your electric bill. And a simple solution is to simply change out the showerhead in your bathroom. Low flow models use less than 2.5 gallons per minute. Since older models can have a flow rate of 5.5 gallons per minute—or even higher—you’ll save about 3 gallons of hot water every minute. That’s about 30 gallons of hot water during a 10 minute shower!
2. Turn down your water heater. Many hot water heaters come preset at 140 degrees. Not only is this temperature scalding to the touch, it’s also wasteful. Chances are, you’ll never use water that hot, but your water heater will continue to use electricity to maintain such high heat. To save money, turn your hot water heater down to 120 degrees. The simple change will save you up to $60 a year.
3. Insulate your water heater. Similar to insulating your home, insulating your hot water heater can help reduce heat loss. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, wrapping your hot water heater in an insulating blanket can reduce heat loss by 25 to 45 percent. Pre-cut blankets are available at most hardware stores and can be purchased for around $20. Since the blanket can save you up to $45 a year in water heating costs, it will more than pay for itself.
4. Fix leaks quickly. A leak that drips once per second will cost you about $1 per month. It may not seem like much, but that little leak will waste over 3,000 gallons of water in a year’s time. Fix leaks quickly to save on your water heating costs and your water bill.
5. Only run your dishwasher when it’s full. Your dishwasher uses the same amount of energy to wash a full or small load. By waiting to run the machine until it’s full, you’ll run your dishwasher less over its lifetime and save money on your water heating costs.
6. Wash clothes in cold water.  Hot water heating makes up 90 percent of the operating cost of your washing machine. But it doesn’t have to. By washing your clothes in cold water, you can completely eliminate these costs. When you can’t wash with cold water, opt for warm water instead. It should clean just as well as hot, at half the cost. If you do a lot of laundry, you can find significant savings here.
7. Replace with ENERGY STAR. When it comes time to replace your water heater, washing machine or dishwasher shop for ENERGY STAR models. Any model with an ENERGY STAR certification will use less energy and less water than a standard model so you’ll save big over its lifetime.