Electric Hot Water Heater Thermostat Settings

The majority of electric water heaters have two thermostats.

Electric hot water heater thermostat settings.

An upper and a lower located under two control panels. Each of these devices controls two different heating elements. When it goes bad you don t have any hot water at all. Keep in mind that the thermostat is factory preset to a recommended temperature and changing the setting may increase the potential for serious burns.

According to the u s. I m guessing that setting your top thermostat to a 150 would give you small amount of really hot water rather quickly while setting the upper and lower thermostats evenly to a moderate temperature 115 125 would be your quickest way to get a full tank of hot water. Adjusting an electric hot water heater temperature thermostat setting. See the article troubleshooting electric water heaters for a complete listing of all of the problems related to an electric water heater.

A dual element water heater uses two heating elements controlled. How to set the upper and lower thermostats on dual element water heaters. Many modern homes come with dual element water heaters. An electric hot water heater has two thermostats controlling two separate heating elements one in the upper half of the tank one in the lower half.

This article deals with thermostats on electric water heaters. For thermostats on gas hot water heaters you will need to see the article gas. Hot water heater settings are easy to adjust although electric heaters will require a screwdriver and possibly a small wrench or socket. Adjusting an electric hot water heater temperature thermostat setting is a little more involved but still relatively easy.

Electric water heaters often have two thermostats one at the top and another at the bottom of the tank. And most tankless water heaters feature a display with a temperature readout and controls. Not sure if this is your problem. The upper thermostat controls both the upper and lower element.

If you turn the hot water tap and cold water runs out then the upper thermostat is damaged. Department of energy for each 10 degree reduction in water temperature you can save between 3 and 5 percent in energy costs. When you check your electric water heater you will notice two thermostats on the unit one at the top and one at the bottom. Usually when the upper thermostat goes bad you will have no hot water at all while a bad lower thermostat makes itself known when there is only a small amount of hot water before the tap water goes cold.

Too little hot water.