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I have an electric tank water heater with 4 settings (110, 120, 130 and 140 degrees). Its currently set at 120- can I drop it down to 110 degrees and still be safe from bacteria or microbes, etc. How much would I save on my water bill?
I have run them at about 120 for years, you don't save *that* much but you do save some, depending on how much water you use vs how much time the water heater is just sitting there keeping itself warm. The downside is you don't have as much heat stored, you end up showering in almost 100% hot water, so if you have a 40 gallon heater, if you use more than 40 gallons at a time, it will start running cold. We never use that much at one time so it's not such a big deal.
If you drop it down to 110 you may find it's not really hot enough for satisfactory use in the shower, and you will definitely need to set the internal heat on your dishwasher (temp guard, whatever yours calls this) or it won't clean very well.
At the same time if you want to experiment you can give it a try and then turn it back up if 110 does not work for you.
I don't know about bacteria growing in the water heater, are you on chlorinated city water or a well?
You will save the most if you invest in a timer and a blanket. If it is a fairly new water heater, check the manf. instructions about blankets. Some do not need them.
Timers set to go on about 45 minutes before you need them in the am, then off when you are out of the house and sleeping. Typical is ON at say 5am, then OFF at 8am, then ON at 5pm and OFF at 10pm.
Our electric bills are killing us- entire house is electric and our rates are up to 18 cents a KWH. Rarely use the AC and still the summertime electric bill is over $200 a month. Winter is another matter- $500 a month due to baseboard heating. I thought it must be the electric water heater. The idea of a timer is intriguing. The tanks and pipes are insulated.
Get a room heater. Don't heat the whole house if you don't have to. I usually don't recommend that but those bills are outrageous. You may have some coils, if they're electric, that are shorted to themselves. If it's electric base boards those coils are the resistance which keeps the amperage down while they're on. it's also a possibility one of the elements is always on but that could be easily checked by feeling to see if they are heating when they shouldn't be.
You could turn it down a lil more but the savings will be squat. The timer is the better idea, might save a few pennies. Even there it is more a prayer than a solution.
Even the highest setting on the water heater will not kill all the lil bugs if you really had them. It is a moot point, you are on a city water supply, even the cold water is "Safe" to drink. In general if you are ever worried about bacteria or microbes in any water for real, you have to be like 168 F minimum; better to be up to like 180 F to really be sure heat gets them.
Your real problem is being on electric for heating / cooling. You might want to consider looking at changing to some other source like geo thermal, wood, coal or something that will be cheaper and more independent of normal fossil fuels. The future is not going to get any better, only way for many energy sources is up. Geo themal can give you house heat / cooling / hot water for a fraction of what you are now paying. Only question being the initial costs, that can be finesed a bit by shopping around.
Resistance baseboard heating went out with the dinosaurs, only way anybody can afford that today is if your daddy owns the power company.
You might be a good candidate for solar too. With all the tax credits now available could also be a good choice. Look around for what help NJ might provide at the state level. Lots of ways to get help with the initial bills.
Don't whine, do something about it. Nothing like the thrill of free or cheap power to the people.
Well I've got a problem because my whole house, including basement, is resistive baseboard heating and I'm up to my eyeballs on my mortgage alone. Solar won't work here, and again, due to finances, I can't afford a wood or coal stove installed right now.
I don't know anything about geothermal- I'm going to look into it. I don't believe that is a common option in this region. I could be wrong, I've just never heard of anyone heating there home around here that way. Solar is pretty rare too, its always cloudy here.
I'm not whining, as you say, I'm genuinely asking a question on how to reduce my electric bills.
IS there anything that can be done working with what I have? Is Hydrosil a better baseboard choice?
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The water heater ain't your problem
