Adjusting the Water Heater Temperature

Have you ever found yourself shocked by the monthly gas or electricity bill? If you are looking for some easy ways to go about reducing your monthly bills, then you may want to look into adjusting the water heater temperature. By simply changing the average temperature that you keep your water heater set at, you can actually save quite a bit of money. This only makes sense, since if you have your temperature set to a lower setting, then you will find yourself using less energy. The question though is how to do it.

The easiest, and perhaps best way to do it, is to get an electrician friend to help you out. This is particularly helpful if you are not very electrically minded, which many people are not. However, if you need to do it yourself, there are a few simple things that you can do in order to do the task yourself.

1. Turn off the power. First thing that you will need to do is to turn off the power to the water heater. This can easily be done by finding the circuit breaker box, and then throwing the switch for your water heater. Once the switch has been thrown, you will have no power running to the heater.
2. Remove the faceplate. Look to the side of the water heater, and look for a plate. This plate will usually be about seven inches wide, by roughly ten inches high. It will be held in place with two screws, which you will need to remove, and set them aside.
3. Turn the dial down. Under the faceplate that you just removed, there should be a little dial. This dial will have some temperature settings on it. These may say warm, medium, hot, or so on; others will say things like the actual temperatures. Turn the temperature to the desired setting, but usually you don't want to go below 105 degrees Fahrenheit.
4. Replace the faceplate. After you have set the temperature to your desired settings, it is time to replace everything back to its proper place. Simply replace the faceplate into the same place that you removed it from.
5. Test your work. After you have replaced everything, go back to your circuit breaker and restore power. Once you have restored the power, allow your water heater to sit for a little while to achieve the proper temperature. Often you will only need to wait about 20 minutes until this happens. Turn the water on, and then see if you like the results. If not, repeat the process until you have reached the desired temperature for your water.