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About: I am a retired residential contractor. I started in home repair during college in Bloomington Indiana. Home repair evolved into remodeling and finally specialized in fixing and painting homes. Moved to Houston, Texas in 1984. People in west suburbs of Houston might remember my business called Paint’N. Along with a few helpers, we fixed and painted houses in assembly-line fashion for many years.

Why water heater timers? Water heater timers came up because I wanted to cut household costs.

Frankly, attic insulation should be FIRST on any list because it will save the most money right away. While crawling around in the attic, use a strip of newspaper taped to a stick and check heat/AC ducts for leaks. Efficient heat/air unit should follow as the biggest money-saver. While figuring expensive items, make a list of daily energy-use, including water heater ... here are 9 ways to save with your water heater

After attic insulation and the heat/air unit, I focused on household electric use. I saw that all electric appliances could be switched off except refrigerator-freezer and water heater. I cleaned back and bottom of refrigerator and called that good enough. Next came the water heater. I was surprised my water heater consumed up to 16% of electric bill in colder months, yet I used very few gallons of hot water each day.

It took a few months before coming up with different timers people could put on the wall see. I installed a countdown timer on my wall, and then changed to simple dial-type programmable. This maximized control over electric bill. 

What about people with gas water heaters? Two different companies introduced a gas water heater timer see. Now gas water heater can be switched on and off like the gas furnace.

Work continues. I speak to folks about their water heater experience. Here's what I discovered: Everybody is aware of energy conservation. Many tradespeople, and most folks on peak-pricing already have a water heater switch. Almost every person is looking at energy solutions. People view a timer favorably. They are uncertain if it saves money. People want a CEO to develop a timer and promote features in public media for all to see. And they want a timer pre-installed on their water heater. The manufacturers are making new products see the new innovations. The professional appliance guy at Lowes told me that people are asking about programmable water heaters. People want solutions.

Does a water heater timer save money? Yes. But only IF homeowner is willing to: a.) schedule hot water use and b.) seriously reduce hot water consumption. Careful consumers can save 7-9% which equals 1 free month of energy each year.  Additionally, the water heater appliance last longer with less maintenance and fewer replacements.
HOWEVER I think you should try a timer Free before deciding.