Just realized the old water heater in my fixer-upper was costing me $40 extra a month

I bought a 1950s bungalow near Whyte Ave last spring and finally got around to checking the utility bills. The water heater was from 1998 and I figured it was fine since it still worked. After 6 months of high gas bills I had a plumber look at it and he said the insulation was basically shot. Replaced it with a new energy star model last week and my first bill dropped by $40. Has anyone else seen big savings from swapping out old appliances in their Edmonton home?

2 comments

2 Comments

blair_allen12d ago

Pretty sure 1998 is the year that model was last made, not when it was installed. My place had a 1980s model that was basically a giant rust bucket, swapped it out and saved about the same amount. Night and day difference with those old tanks.

the_beth12d ago

Wait, are we sure the old heater was actually costing you $40 more or just that your new bill happened to go down? I swapped my 2005 water heater last fall and my gas bill barely budged, like maybe $10-15. I think a lot of times people chalk up seasonal changes or other factors to the new appliance. December was mild as heck here so my furnace barely ran, that alone could explain a drop like that. You'd have to compare the same month last year with similar temps and usage, or else it's just guesswork. Not saying you're wrong, just that I've seen people oversell the savings on these things.