My home is heated with infloor radiant heat that is generated from a heavy duty hot water tank that is inturn heated by natural gas. Would putting a Hot Water tank jacket/blanket around it generate any real amount of savings. We just moved in this summer and have thought about this as a way to save money and reduce the frequency it will need to come on. Thanks for any info or advice.

Paul

 

Using a potable water heater for space heating is a really lousy system in my opinion and it is prohibited by some jurisdictions. Depending on where this water heater is located the insulating blanket may have a slight positive effect to actually having a negative effect. If the water heater is located inside the "heated envelope" of the building then any heat loss from the heater simply goes to heating the building.

 

The energy cost of in floor radiant heat start with the installation. Next is water temperature and how it is heated. Unfortunately, a water heater is generally not the most efficient for the job and as Furd said, it's a job it wasn't designed for.

Is your in-floor heat under a slab or in a basement ceiling?

Bud

 

I have heard recently that some jurisdictions do not even allow those insulation blankets to be used any longer. I don't have details as to why, and no proof that this is even true. It came up during a discussion with local code enforcement officer. I can't find any evidence that this is true in a google search. I thought it was BS so I didn't pursue it.

Personally, I don't think they're worth it. I bet you would be hard pressed to prove that it saved you a dime. And has been stated, if the water heater is located within the heated envelope of the building, what difference would it make anyway? The heat is still getting into the building!

What make/model is your heater?