Hot H20 electricity consumtion metering

This should be pretty simple since in theory you could just put an electric (not electronic) clock across the element. But the element runs on 220 in most installations, so you'd need a transformer or something. And in most electric water heaters there are actually 2 separate elements, one at the bottom that does most of the heavy lifting, and one at the top that kicks in if the cold-water line in the tank reaches that high under heavy use. So you'd need two separate clocks and transformers.

In my own case many years ago, I wanted to see the effect of super-insulating the tank. I just hooked little NE2 neon bulbs across the elements, each with a CdS photocell next to it and wrapped in electrical tape to block stray light. Used a chart recorder I happened to have on hand to monitor activity. If you have some sort of recording device, this approach may work for you as well.

Best regards,

Bob Masta dqatechATdaqartaDOTcom D A Q A R T A Data AcQuisition And Real-Time Analysis

You can purchase a watt hour meter and meter base for that purpose from the local electric utility. Or call a local electrician.... try ebay...

The water heater is either on or off. If you could get a 220V clock, you could gator clip that onto the heating element and see how many hrs a dat its running. Quick... how many BTUs in a KWHR? ans: 3412

Yup...that seems to be simplist\cheapest....Thanks all

Since 220 volts uses 2 110 volt legs a 110 volt clock can be made to work. Use analog not digital.