Slightly Cooler Hot Water - (5 Minutes, Free)

Water Heater thermostats are typically set rather hot - some up to 140ºF. At that temperature, water can scald skin! Unless your water heater is also used for doing dishes and your dishwasher does not have a hot water booster, you should turn the thermostat on the water heater down to where it's just warm enough for your most demanding shower or bath person in the house. Typically, that will be between 115ºF and 120ºF. If your dishwasher doesn't have a hot water booster, you can probably get away with 130ºF.

You may want to consult your water heater owner's manual for instructions on how to operate the thermostat. Usually, to lower the temperature, you simply turn the knob down. My natural gas heater doesn't have temperature marks, so I just turned it down some and adjusted the temperature after each shower until I found my comfort zone.

Electric water heaters can have two thermostats, so make sure you get both. Caution: If you have to remove any parts to change the settings on an electric heater, turn off the power to the heater first just to be safe!

If plan to be out of town for more than a couple of days, turn the water heaters to their lowest setting before you leave. (Don't forget to turn them back up!) You may want to mark your comfort setting once you find it to make this easier.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), you can save between 3%–5% in energy costs for each 10ºF reduction in water temperature. And it's free...