Turning off your electric hot water heater when you're away from home or at night while you're asleep can cut these costs without inconveniencing you. A GE digital timer will allow you to set the times you want the water heater to come on and off, and you can install the timer yourself.
Disconnect the wire coming out of the top of the water heater. Feed this wire up through the bottom of the your digital timer's metal box. Connect the colored wires to the corresponding colored wires in the timer, feeding the ends of the wires into the wire nuts already attached to the timer.
Turn off the power to your water heater. Double check with a volt meter to make sure no power is coming to the water heater to avoid electrical shock.
Connect electrical wire to the top of your water heater, where the wire you just removed was connected. Use the same type and size of wire as was previously attached to the water heater. Strip 1/2 inch of insulation from one end of the wire and separate the ground, neutral and hot wires. Attach these to the connections at the top of your water heater, using wire nuts.
Mount the timer box to the wall beside the water heater. Hold the timer box to the wall and trace the outline of the box. With a drywall saw, cut out the space for the box. Insert the box in the wall and tighten the screws at the corners to extend the fins to set the box in the wall. Set the timer into the box, tucking all the wires and wire nuts securely into the box behind the timer.
Turn on the breaker to restore power to the water heater. The display on your digital timer should light. Set the current day and time, then set the times you want the water heater to come on and off by pressing the setting, hour and minute buttons on the timer.
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