Is my new hot water heater saving me money?

We spend a lot of money to upgrade our systems with the promise that they'll save us money.

I've read this, I've been told this, but I've never experienced it. I've never seen real numbers.

So as part of a collaboration with Rheem, they've provided a hot water heater to put to the test. I'm revealing my actual utility costs for Water, Gas and Electricity to see what the numbers have to say.

Here's my 1st Quarter Hot Water Heater Utility Bill Comparison:

December 2014- February 2015 VS. December 2015- February 2016

December 2014 Water (charged bimonthly): 96.12 Electricity: 115.82 Natural Gas: 88.92 Total: 300.86	December 2015 Water (charged bimonthly): 106.60 Electricity: 111.54 Natural Gas: 142.54 Total: 360.68
January 2015 Water (charged bimonthly): 0 Electricity: 135.07 Natural Gas: 135.97 Total: 271.04	January 2016 Water (charged bimonthly): 0 Electricity: 115.43 Natural Gas: 114.29 Total: 229.72
February 2015 Water (charged bimonthly): 91.70 Electricity: 111.65 Natural Gas: 183.18 Total: 386.53	February 2016 Water (charged bimonthly): 122.22 Electricity: 132.37 Natural Gas: 141.12 Total: 395.71

So, actually, we've spent more money that we did in the same period. Are you shocked?

If you're simply looking at the numbers, this doesn't look good. Especially when you look at the fact that the hot water heater was in our garage last year. Our garage is not temperature regulated and we regularly have our washer's pipes freeze out there in the winter.

But, when I tell you about the way it's completely changed our lives, you'll look at those numbers and agree that it's so worth it.

A year ago I wasn't taking very many showers in the winter. I have bad arthritis in my knees and we couldn't get enough hot water to fill even half our tub let alone a long enough shower to loosen my joints. Now, I can hop in the shower and relax. The water is hot and I'm relaxed. And then there's my son. A year ago he couldn't play in the bath. We couldn't get enough hot water to fill it up. And since a chunk of the water was cool, the water cooled down a lot faster. I've stopped using hand sanitizer because I can turn on the sink to wash my hands and the water is warm. I even use the faucet for hot water to make tea. The water gets hot enough for me to steep tea!

The previous hot water heater made the winter months so unbearably difficult for me. It probably sounds silly, but I've saved time. Time that I would've spent curled up in my bed counting the days until spring. I've saved sanity because I can let my boy splash around in the bathtub, like little boys ask to do.

I'm using more water than I was in the same time frame than last year. So I fully expected my bills to be higher. If I wasn't enjoying my hot water so much, I know my bills would have been lower.

It's going to get real interesting once the weather warms up. I'm betting those numbers are going to show an interesting shift that these ones haven't shown.

If you've missed the first 2 parts of this 12 part series, you can catch up on those here:

http://www.adesignerathome.com/hot-water-heater-moved-installed/

http://www.adesignerathome.com/about-econet-and-how-to-use-it/