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Is your water set to scalding?

04.03.2009

Submitted by tmeronek on Thu, 04/02/2009 - 11:00pm.
The Bite:
Cool it. If you have a tank water heater, turn down the temp a bit to save major energy (and no, we're not suggesting cold showers). Hot damn.
The Benefits: 
  • Scorching savings. Many installers set heaters to 140 degrees, but you can comfortably get away with closer to 120 - which is hot enough to get your dishes clean, but'll save you 6%-10% on water-heating costs.
  • Not heating up the planet. If every U.S. household turns its water heater thermostat down 20 degrees, we could prevent the same amount of global-warming-causing CO2 emitted by Kuwait or Libya.
Personally Speaking: 
Heather's water heater temp gauge has a "vacation" setting that she sets it to every time she's outta town.
Wanna Try: 
  • You might wanna check the manual and give it a test run before you commit, but generally you just find the thermostat on your water heater, and turn it down to 120 degrees (if the gauge doesn't have degrees on it, try halfway between the low and medium settings. After turning it down, you can check the water temp with a thermometer at the tap farthest from the water heater).
  • If you're gonna be outta town, you can turn electrics off completely, or turn gas ones down to the lowest setting (note: it'll take 30 minutes to 1 hour to completely heat back up).
  • Intermatic Electric Water Heater Timer - automatically turns off your electric (sorry, gas users) water heater (when you're asleep or at work, for example); can save you an additional 5%-12% off water heating costs ($33).
 

Cocktail Fact

The naked mole rat is the only mammal that scientists know of that doesn't feel physical pain (due to missing pain neurotransmitters).

Bang For The Bite

If 10,000 Biters turn down their (electric) water heaters by 20 degrees, we'll avert the CO2 created by 300 Americans in a year.

8 comments
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Sandra A Lloyd  on April 03, 2009 at 03:36 AM 1
The following information is from Osha: http://www.osha.gov/dts/osta/otm/legionnaires/faq.html Q. What water conditions are best for growth of the organism? A. Warm, stagnant water provides ideal conditions for growth. At temperatures between 20°C-50°C (68°-122°F) the organism can multiply. Temperatures of 32°C-40°C (90°-105°F) are ideal for growth. Rust (iron), scale, and the presence of other microorganisms can also promote the growth of LDB. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q. What common types of water are of greatest concern? A. Water mist from cooling towers or evaporative condensers, evaporative coolers (swamp coolers), humidifiers, misters, showers, faucets, and whirlpool baths can be contaminated with LDB and if inhaled or aspirated into the lungs can cause the disease. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q. Can Legionnaires' disease be prevented? A. Yes. Avoiding water conditions that allow the organism to grow to high levels is the best means of prevention. Specific preventive steps include: Regularly maintain and clean cooling towers and evaporative condensers to prevent growth of LDB. This should include twice-yearly cleaning and periodic use of chlorine or other effective biocide. Maintain domestic water heaters at 60°C (140°F). The temperature of the water should be 50°C (122°F) or higher at the faucet. Avoid conditions that allow water to stagnate. Large water-storage tanks exposed to sunlight can produce warm conditions favorable to high levels of LDB. Frequent flushing of unused water lines will help alleviate stagnation.
SHERRYE  on April 03, 2009 at 04:13 AM 2
I THOUGHT my water wasn't hot enough because the dishes NEVER all get clean in the dishwasher (we have sterilized particles left behind) so I cranked up the heat to see if made a difference. Well, it DIDN"T, so my water heater is now on the low setting again. When we are all going out of town at the same time we just flick off the dedicated circuit breaker for the water heater and don't have to climb up in the attic to mess with settings up there. . . much easier.
JMB  on April 03, 2009 at 05:33 AM 3
entertain the possibility of swaping out your tank water heater with a tankless (especially if your unit is older), you'll get a 30% tax credit for doing it too, save around a hundred dollars a year on energy costs and cool down the planet. no need to think of water heater settings when you leave for vacation either. win, win, win
Alan Johnson  on April 03, 2009 at 06:02 AM 4
I seems like Sandra is suggesting that we should ignore this tip. However, from the same link she provided: "Q. Do you recommend that I operate my home water heater at 60°C (140°F)? A. Probably not if you have small children or infirm elderly persons who could be at serious risk of being scalded by the hot water. However, if you have people living with you who are at high risk of contracting the disease, then operating the water heater at a minimum temperature of 60°C (140°F) is probably a good idea. Consider installing a scald-prevention device." It also describes how it is no more severe than pneumonia, is easily treated, and how only 5 in 100 people exposed will get sick: most people have a natural resistance. Sorry, Sandra, but your post seems very one sided and makes me dubious of your motivations. Finally, it is worth noting that current code required that technicians set the temp to 140*F because of this risk. However, there has never been a case recorded in North America caused by a lower HW temp setting. This may have made more sense in the '50s when HW tanks where fewer and energy resources were plentiful, but times have changed. So, just smile and nod when they tell you code requires 140*, then turn it down when they leave.
Alan Johnson  on April 03, 2009 at 06:16 AM 5

Sherrye, it is great to see people trying things out for themselves! Also, good job using a dishwasher because they are more efficient and effect than doing dishes by hand! Here are a few notes on the subject of dishwashers:

Anything less than 140*F is not likely to effectively sterilize in your dishwasher. However, the same code the requires HW tanks to be set to 140* also required a mixer to be placed on the output of the tank to drop the temp down to 120* before it goes into the house to prevent scalding (this may vary around the country, I'm not sure). So, if your water is coming from your tank to your dishwasher at 140*, something is out of code anyway.

Either way, it is arbitrarily more efficient to let your dishwasher heat the little bit of water it uses (~4gal) to 140* than to store all your hot water at that temperature regardless of the fuel used (unless you have a Solar HW system, but more on that in another post).

If your dishwasher is not getting your dishes clean, even at lower temperatures, either it is really old, a piece of junk, or more likely, there is likely something wrong with its function. Look into having it serviced and the tech can likely give you some tips on how to use it better, like how to load it differently, etc.

Alan Johnson  on April 03, 2009 at 06:35 AM 6

JMB, good tip, however, tankless system might have trouble keeping up with demand in some households, but this is becoming less of an issue with newer units. Depending on use and local climate, and indirect hot water tank (highly insulated, heated from a loop off a boiler) can be more efficient than a tankless system. Not that tankless should not be considered, but it is not always the best solution.

That said, everything else pails in comparison to SHW. The fed tax credits are as good or better than for tankless systems, and the payback is incredible. Check http://www.dsireusa.org/ for state and federal incentives. Typical home systems that provides 70% of your HW throughout the year (and that's here in VT) can pay for themselves in 5-7 years and the incentives keep making that time shorter. A good loan can easily allow you to see an immediate improvement in your monthly budget. You might consider a tankless booster to fill in the gaps in the colder/darker months. Depending on local climate, this might not be necessary.

JMB  on April 03, 2009 at 08:26 AM 7
www.energystar.gov gives a great breakdown of how many gallons per minute you typically need to run certain household appliances. It even has a list of water heaters, their efficiency ratings and gallons per minute they generate. I recommended that you don't do a load of hot water washables while you take your shower, but I could never do that with my tank water heater either (during the rinse it would be a cooold shower). Good tips, resident expert Alan!
Ann  on April 03, 2009 at 08:08 PM 8
When we had an electric water heater, we hooked up a switch to turn it on and off whenever we wanted. We also wrapped it with insulation. We had it running about an hour before using the hot water, and turned it off when we didn't need any more. These two methods kept our energy usage for the water heater down to very little. It was easy to wake up an hour ahead of time, stumble to the switch and turn it on, then get back in bed for another hour of enjoyable sleep, only to rise in time to have a nice hot shower. And we had three children at the time. We now have a gas water heater, and cannot do the switch or the insulation, for safety reasons. If you also have gas, do Not put an on/off switch on it, and do Not insulate it. It can cause explosions. We are using the temp. methoid, though, to help decrease energy usage.

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