Should you insulate a hot water heater?

During a recent home inspection I had an opportunity to talk to the home inspector about hot water heaters. My question was should all hot water heaters be insulated or wrapped?

It's a good idea to insulate your electric hot water heater, adding insulation can reduce standby heat losses by 25%-45% if your R value is less than R-24. This will save you 4%-9% in water heating costs according to energysavers.gov

I was surprised to learn that gas hot water heaters shouldn’t be insulated because this makes the unit sweat which can corrode the unit and reduce the overall efficiency of the unit. Should you choose to insulate your gas hot water heater, make sure that the airflow is not obstructed to the burner.

I learned something new today and I hope this might help you. Have a great weekend and thank you for your time and attention.

For additional information please visit: http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/water_heating/index.cfm/mytopic=13070

Sincerely,

Mary Sitton