At what temperature to set the domestic hot water to save on gas in the bill
Among the measures to save on gas is to set the correct temperature of the domestic hot water (DHW). Here’s what you need to know.
The prices of energy he was born in gas have been steadily increasing for some time, but because of the war in Ukraine have experienced a drastic surge, with bills even quadrupling for companies and families within a year. The imminent arrival of the cold season risks worsening the situation further, also for this reason a national plan has been prepared that has the virtuous as its objective consumption cut in the next, very difficult months.
We can all save on bills by following some simple precautions (here is the decalogue with the advice of ENEA), among which there is also the adjustment of the domestic hot water temperature (ACS) of the water heater. In very simple words, sanitary water is what comes out of home faucets and that we use both for personal hygiene and in the kitchen. It should not be confused with the one dedicated to heating. Optimizing the use of this valuable asset can help us save on bills. Here’s what you need to know.
The ideal temperature for sanitary water is between 45° and 55°
Setting the domestic water temperature correctly has several benefits, on well-being, savings in bills, and also on potential future interventions maintenance. In general, the ideal temperature is considered to be in the range between 45° C e I 55° C. Setting it below 45 ° C we could in fact feel cold while taking a shower, but it is a detail that depends a lot on personal sensitivity (our body temperature is 36 ° C). To save money, some lower it to 43 ° C or even less, without noticing the intervention.
By setting it above 55 ° C, on the other hand, the opposite problem emerges, since in order not to burn yourself it is necessary to mix with cold water (you get burned starting from about 60 ° C). This process results in a useless waste of energy which obviously impacts on the portfolio, without forgetting the risk of the formation of limescale in the pipes with all that goes with it. However, we remind you that a sufficiently high temperature also allows the elimination of thermolabile microorganisms and potentially harmful to health.
There are two types of systems for the supply of domestic hot water: those instant and accumulation. The former are systems in which hot water is heated at the exact moment in which it is requested and used, a very common system in individual homes, while in storage systems the water is deposited in special tanks called storage tanks.
As specified by luce-gas, the ideal temperature for an instant system should be between 38 ° C and 40 ° C, considering it “suitable for a shower or a bathroom”, while for those of accumulation, “it should be constant and high” because it guarantees a better yield. Some modern condensing boilers are capable of adjusting independently the ideal temperature – thanks to an external probe – allowing them to obtain advantages in terms of yield, efficiency, and savings according to the conditions.
How much can you save on your bill by setting the right boiler temperature?
Releasing water that is too hot and then “tempering” it with cold water in order to obtain the desired one is certainly a quick way to waste energy and money. Adjusting the DHW correctly optimizes consumption and guarantees savings on the bill, which can be more or less significant. However, quantifying this saving in percentage terms is very complex, because it depends on many factors and not only on the temperature.
Among them are the number of people in the family; how often you take showers and baths; how long you stay underwater; how many times and how you wash the dishes and clothes, the size of the house, the type of system used, etc. The downward adjustment of the temperature alone guarantees a discreet cut on the bills, but it is by taking all the necessary precautions – such as taking shorter showers and rinsing the dishes with cold water after having soaped them – that it is possible to save even several hundred euros in one year, using a modern and efficient system.
Reference: Wikipedia
