Many households blame appliances for rising electricity bills, but the biggest hidden consumer is often the electric water heater, a quiet device that runs constantly and uses far more energy than most people realize, especially over long periods of daily use. “Most electric water heaters use between 3,000 and 4,500 watts every time they heat water.” A single heating cycle can equal many smaller devices combined, and because it repeats often, total consumption quickly builds up. Water heaters also consume energy even when not in use, because “heat continuously escapes from the tank into the surrounding air,” forcing the system...
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