How to wire off-peak water heater

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How to wire off-peak water heater

Homeowners should check with plumber before altering water heater wiring

Off-peak option 1: Add timer; add home enery system; install low-wattage elements
		Adding a timer that turns water heater off during peak price is easy way to solve peak-price problem Compare water heater timers
	Adding home energy system is more expensive option. Automated home energy sytem can regulate all appliances during peak pricing. Basically same as adding programmable timer to each appliance. Difference is more control tweaks available with home energy system. For example, instead of turning heat OFF and water heater OFF, the system can decide to run one or the other so both do not operate at same time. Example system: Brayden Energy Sentry
	Change elements to lower wattage for slower heating Good for homes with lower consumption and homes with peak electric pricing How to replace element 'ECO-peak' 120V-240Volt water heater has slower heating Uses lower wattage elements The bottom element remains ON at all times 3-element tank from Giant Water Heater & Hydro-Quebec Manual & specs Slower heating throughout day and during peak time
Off-peak option 2: Rewire thermostats for peak operation
240 Volt potential exists between L3 yellow wire and each L1 black wire	Purpose of off-peak ... save energy during peak electric prices. > Upper thermostat operates normally to keep top 2/3 tank hot. > Lower thermostat heats bottom 1/3 of tank only when ordered by off-peak meter or timer Compare: Off-peak water heater Ordinary water heater 1. Lower thermostat replaced with ECO-protected thermostat identical to upper thermostat. ECO safety red reset cuts off power when water in tank reaches dangerously high 150-180°F 2. Upper thermostat: Red wire is moved L4 to T4. Color of wires can be different. 3. Black wire from lower thermostat does not connect to upper thermostat T4 screw 4. Black wire from lower thermostat runs to top of water heater for connection to off-peak meter, or off-peak timer 5. 240 Volt potential exists between L3 yellow wire and each L1 black wire at top of water heater See Off-peak operation sequence	Compare: Ordinary tank wiring How to wire thermostats Forum: off-peak billing
Off-peak water heater timer	How to wire off-peak water heater to EH40 programmable timer	How to wire off-peak water heater to timer Lower thermostat receives power only when timer orders > Upper thermostat receives power full time Compare box-type water heater timers

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OFF-Peak Non-simultaneous operation. Lower element turned OFF during off-peak. Upper element keeps top of tank hot Less hot water is available. When off-peak ends, normal NON-simultaneous operation resumes.

Off-peak option 3: Add another water heater to store hot water ...so more hot water available at usage time Add timer to either water heater -or- both water heaters
	Install tanks in series: Cold water enters heater #1 and then feeds into heater #2. Wiring goes in reverse order: Wire from circuit breaker arrives at heater #2, and then goes to heater #1 (as shown diagrams below) IF WATER HEATER HAS FOAM INSULATION the wiring may not be possible without drilling hole to drop additional wire into lower part of tank. This action will void water heater warranty. Remember, for water heater to work correctly, the thermostats and element must be covered with insulation or thermostat will misread temperature.
Larger image Add timer to either water heater or both water heaters	Redundant thermostats control 2 water heaters Set upper thermostats at lower temperature than lower thermostats Purpose: Add additional tank so more hot water available at peak times, without adding additional wiring from breaker. Heater #1 must be satisfied before power is sent to heater #2. Heater #2 may not fully heat before heater #1 needs to turn ON again. This will happen IF water heater is poorly insulated or cold water is drawn from heater #1 or incoming water is very cold. Sequence: 1) Power from circuit breaker arrives at ECO-protected upper thermostat on heater #1 2) ECO protection required on upper part of tank to prevent overheating event since heat rises 3) Typical lower thermostat on heater #1 is replaced with ECO thermostat so power can be transferred to heater #2 when heater #1 thermostats are satisfied. 4) Once heater #1 is satisfied, power goes to heater #2. Either heater can be wired for redundant or typical non-simulataeous operation. The key is adding ECO-protected thermostat to lower part of heater #1, and adding wire from lower thermostat so power can be transferred to heater #2. Water heaters with foam insulation may require long drill bit from home center or fry's to bring wire to top of tank. Be sure insulation and covers are put over thermostats so thermostat not exposed to cool temperatures and cause temperature misread. Read about two water heaters
	Non-simultaneous thermostats control 2 water heaters Simultaneous wiring will heat top of tank first. Redundant will turn ON as soon as cold water enters tank. How electric water heater works Purpose: Add additional tank so more hot water available at peak times, without adding additional wiring. Heater #1 must be satisfied before power is sent to heater #2. Heater #2 may not fully heat before heater #1 needs to turn ON again. This will happen IF water heater is poorly insulated or cold water is drawn from heater #1 or incoming water is very cold. Sequence is generally same as above. Water heaters with foam insulation may require long drill bit from home center or fry's to bring wire to top of tank. Be sure insulation and covers are put over thermostats so thermostat not exposed to cool temperatures and cause temperature misread. Read about two water heaters Add timer to either water heater or both water heaters
Why does this work? 240volt water heaters have two hot wires from breaker. Each element is permanently connected to one hot wire, and will always test hot for 120Volt to ground. Thermostat opens and closes second hot wire to element. This action turns element ON-OFF Basic water heater circuit Thermostat is either Hot on T2 or Hot on T4, but never both. Some ECO thermostats are numbered 2 and 4. So the lower thermostat on water heater #1 will either send power to lower element on heater #1, or it will send power to heater #2. Water heater #2 will not turn ON unless water heater #1 is OFF When water heater #1 turns OFF, then heater #2 has 240V power available.	Larger image How thermostats work How to wire thermostats
	If water heater has foam insulation, then replacing lower thermostat with ECO protected thermostat may not be easy. Take apart most upper thermostats and make new lower thermostat that will work for the specific two-water heater diagrams shown above. When not to use: Do not remove ECO protection on upper part of tank. On simultaneous and single-tank off-peak water heaters, the ECO is require for lower thermostat operation. ECO protects you in case of overheating and is required for safe operation of water heaters.
If you cannot rewire water heater:
	If you cannot rewire water heater because of foam insulation or other factor such as warranty: Re-plumb water heaters in series, and run additional 30 amp circuit to additional heater. Then put both water heater on a timer See basic water heater circuit Water heater timer for two water heaters Both water heaters have same schedule & turn on-off at same time More box-type water heater timers
	Control 2 water heaters Each water heater can have different 7-day schedule 10 gauge wire and 30 amp breaker run cooler. 30 amp circuit breaker and 10 gauge wire for water heater runs cooler with less energy loss. Breaker box lasts longer. Different wiring: For two 4500 watt water heaters, you can use one 40 amp breaker and 8 gauge wire to bring power from breaker box to the first timer. For two 5500 watt water heaters, you can use 50 amp breaker and 8 gauge wire Water heater timers EH40 water heater timer Things you can do to increase amount of hot water 9 ways to save with water heater
Off-peak option 4: Re-wire circuit from 240Volts to 120Volts .... for homes with reduced consumption
	Re-wire water heater circuit from 240Volt to 120Volt. Not correct option in homes with several people Wires inside water heater are NOT changed. Reduce electric consumption by heating water more slowly. Water heater will not 'recover' as quickly. Instead of heating 20 gallons hot water per hour, tank will heat about 5-10 gallons per hour. Physics has not changed: it still takes same Kwh to heat 1 gallon of water. This option is for low-consumption homes, in areas that have peak electric pricing. Inside breaker box: Move black wire from 240V breaker to 120Volt circuit breaker rated for correct amps. Move white wire from 240V breaker to Neutral busbar where ground wire connects. Some breaker boxes have separate Neutral busbar where white wires are connected. Read more about this option

Thermostat sits flat against tank wall so temperature reading is accurate and water heater is protected from overheating Access doors and insulation must be put back over thermostat to avoid higher water temperatures than desired set point, which leads to overheating, which will trip ECO reset. Read how electric water heater works		ECO energy cut off turns off power to water heater when temperature reaches 150°-170° Read troubleshooting steps
	How to install electric meter on water heater

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