Lower Your Water Heater’s Temperature and Experience the Savings
If you’re looking for low-cost methods to reduce energy bills, one of the best is to lower your water heater’s temperature. It costs nothing and you won’t feel the difference in temperature either.
Most households have no problems with the water heater temperature set at 120 degrees. The rare exceptions are people with compromised immune systems and those who don’t have heat boosting on their dishwasher. If your household doesn’t fit those two exceptions, save money and set your water heater thermostat down a few degrees.
Reducing the Water Heater’s Temperature
Lowering the temperature on the water heater isn’t difficult. You’ll need a couple of things: a thermometer to measure the water’s temperature and a marker. The thermometer gives you an accurate way to measure water temperature since, many times, the thermostat dials on water heaters can be inaccurate.
- Take the water’s initial temperature at the faucet furthest from the water heater. Turn on the hot water and let it run a couple of minutes, then measure the temperature.
- On the water heater’s thermostat, mark the current location.
- Turn the water heater temperature down.
- Wait two hours and take a new temperature reading at the furthest faucet.
- Repeat until you reach the 120-degree mark.
- Mark the 120-degree mark on the thermostat.
Benefits of Lowering Water Heater’s Temperature
Bringing down the water heater’s temperature saves money in two ways. It reduces the amount of water needed, as well as the amount of energy needed to keep the water at a certain temperature.
Besides lowering your energy costs, turning down the temperature of your water heater also prevents scalding and slows mineral buildup and corrosion, prolonging the water heater’s life.
If you lower your water heater’s temperature, you should start seeing lower energy bills immediately. For more information on maintaining, repairing or replacing your water heater, contact the pros at Apollo Home Heating, Cooling and Plumbing. We serve communities in the greater Cincinnati area.