Here are some purposes and tips for decreasing your water heater’s temperature!
Northern Utah residents undoubtedly love taking a hot shower on a daily basis, especially when the winter chill comes in this time of year! All of us at Beehive Plumbing are prepped and ready to support the Northern Utah community with all sorts of water heater repairs and replacements when things go wrong with your system, but we also know why it’s important for households to lower their water heater’s temperature during this time of year.
Below we’ll be going over the Three S’ that will help you better understand why you should consider lowering your water heater temperature during the winter, and we’ll also provide you tips on how exactly you can do this!
Safety
There are many varying water heater features that depend upon the unique model that your home has, and some water heaters are automatically set to heat up water to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s important to know that you’ll undoubtedly run the risk of scalding your skin at this high temperature!
This is why we always recommend homeowners to have our Master Plumbers come check out their water heater system so we can help you properly dial back your water temperature to about 120 degrees and reduce your overall risks of skin burns.
Savings
You can get around 22% of energy savings when you lower your water heater’s temperature, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. What ends up happening is you’ll save money because you’re reducing your home’s overall standby loss, which refers to the amount of heat and energy you lose by simply storing hot water when you don’t need it.
By simply lowering your water heater temperature, you’ll be able to save hundreds of dollars each year because you’re ultimately reducing your required amount of energy. Many experts also suggest that you turn down your water heater to even lower settings when you expect to be away from home for extended vacations.
Sediment
Sediment buildup just so happens to be a very serious issue for homes all throughout Northern Utah, and it’s a big factor that contributes to water heater corrosion and overall shortened longevity. When you set your water heater’s temperature to above 120 degrees, you’ll be essentially contributing to the overall accumulation of mineral sediment.
Sediment buildup can cause all sorts of issues for your water heater because it forces your water heater to work much harder and utilize more operational energy.
Tips To Help You Lower Your Home’s Water Heater Temperature
The good news is that it’s fairly simple to lower your home’s water heater temperature, but it’s absolutely critical that you pay very close attention to the details of the below tips to ensure you don’t make any mistakes!
- Read the instruction manual for your water heater to know exactly where the thermostat is located and how the appliance operates. There are many electric water heaters that utilize two thermostats, and in this scenario you’ll need to adjust both of them.
- Decipher the current temperature of your home’s water supply by turning the hot water all the way up on a faucet that’s located as far away as possible from your water heater unit. Then use a thermometer to record your water’s exact temperature.
- Turn down your home’s water temperature if your thermometer reading comes in at over 120 degrees.
- Do a retest at the exact same faucet a few hours after your adjustment.
- Repeat these steps until you reach your preferred maximum temperature.
Reach Out To Beehive Plumbing For Water Heater Repairs & Installations!
Beehive Plumbing is always helping Northern Utah households with ways to save on energy bills and extend plumbing appliance lifetimes, and turning down your water heater’s thermostat can do wonders in terms of ensuring this vital equipment’s overall longevity. You can also consider some of our state-of-the-art tankless water heaters if you don’t want to store heated water any longer and only heat up your home’s water supply as you need it.
But no matter if you need repairs or replacements on traditional water heaters or tankless water heaters, the plumbing experts at Beehive Plumbing are here to help. Contact us online or call us at 801-661-8155 to get in touch with our team today to learn more about water heater upkeep and maintenance!
