Water Heater Tank Temperature Setting

If the stickers on the water heater don t tell you how to set the temperature and you can t find the owner s manual use this method.

Water heater tank temperature setting. Run hot water at the tap closest to the water heater for at least three minutes. Test your water temperature. If the water is above 120 degrees adjust. Guidelines from the department explain that most hot water heaters are automatically set to 140 degrees fahrenheit but that s usually unnecessary.

On the other hand the epa suggests turning the thermostat down to 120 to reduce power consumption and a booster heater to reach sanitizing temperatures at select outlets. The interface for setting the temperature on a water heater will vary by type and. Adjusting water heater temperature. Not only will setting it to 120 degrees meet most.

Don t set your water heater to anything below 120 degrees as diseases can develop in the stagnant water inside the water heater particularly legionella which is quite dangerous. Recommended temperature settings for hot water heaters legionnaires disease. Inhaling water vapor contaminated with legionellosis bacteria causes pneumonia like symptoms that. Water heaters are factory set at osha recommended levels around 140 degrees.

Here the recommended setting of temperature which you should choose is between around 115 degrees fahrenheit and 120 degrees fahrenheit. Water heater thermostats are not very accurate and as indicated above there is some. If you have an electric water heater do not lower the temperature setting below 60 c. It is a temperature setting.

However you may have no clear information about it don t you. The bacteria that causes legionnaires disease grows more easily in some electric water tanks because of the. On the flip side if your water heater is set too low your water may not get hot enough short showers or worse be at risk of growing bacteria.