Hot Water Tank and Timer

[herlichka]

This is actually a project that I completed about a year ago, but I am so pleased with the results that I want to share it with all of you.
The existing 40 gallon hot water tank in the parish hall at my church was nearing the end of it's useful service life, and the Board asked me to look into replacing it. When I first looked at new ones I realized that a 40 gallon tank was way larger than we needed, considering that we seldom used more than a sinkful of hot water on Sunday morning to wash up some coffee cups, and it seemed foolish to keep 40 gallons of water heated 24/7.
I looked around on-line, and found that INTERMATIC makes a line of electronic hot water heater timers. The EH40 model hasa 240VAC clock, and can switch 7200w at 240VAC. It also features battery backup, and six on/off settings per day for a total of 42 per week. It also has a manual override push button on the cover so that you can make hot water if you should need it outsideof the regular programme times.
I also found a small heater at HOME DEPOT, made by GENERAL ELECTRIC. It is 10 US gallon, ( 8 Imperial gallon), and is 3000w and 240VAC. This was important for several reasons, firstly, the old tank was also 3000w @ 240VAC, so I did not have to change the supply wire and the breaker in the panel, and most small heaters are only 1500w, but 3000w heats up very quickly, so recovery time is minimal, about 15-20 minutes.
I have set the timer so that the heater comes on for 1 hour Sunday morning, and for one minute daily at 5pm, so that if the heater is turned on via the manual override switch the timer will resume the regular programme when the timer cycles off.
I don't have easy access to the utility bills, but I'm sure that we are spending significantly less on hot water, one hour and seven minutes per week, instead of 24/7. The cost of the equipment ( heater was $199.00, the timer was about $135.00, plus tax, CAD), was comparable to the cost of just a new 40 gallon heater. And the bonus is that most of the people at church don't realize that we've changed anything.
I would consider this same setup in my home, it works so well, but my wife can't get comfortable with the idea of a small tank. There are just the two of us, and our daily routine is fairly stable, I think that this would work very well. I'll have to keep working on her!