TEST YOUR WATER HEATER’S TEMPERATURE AND
PRESSURE RELIEF VALVE
The thermostat and pressure release valve
on a water heater was designed to help keep your family safe. Watch as one of
Master Plumbers shows you how to test your water heater’s pressure valve and
keep your home’s hot water system functioning properly. In addition to testing
the pressure release valve on your water heater, keep your thermostat set at a
safe temperature, and flush your water heater annually. This will allow you to
keep your system in good working condition and spot any minor problems before
they become major issues.
I’m gonna discuss problems that sometimes
occur with the temperature and pressure relief valves on the water heaters.
Relief valves discharge for usually two reasons
1, there’s excessive pressure building up
inside the system that is exceeding 150 pounds of pressure.
2, the temperature inside the tank is
exceeding 210 degrees Fahrenheit. Both of these situations can be very
dangerous and the temperature and pressure relief valve will open to prevent an
explosion
If you notice water on the floor around the
water heater and there’s no evidence of a tank or plumbing leak, it is probably
a sign that the water heater’s temperature and pressure relief valve has
recently opened and relieved itself. First you should test the water pressure
in the house by using a pressure gauge that you will screw right onto a hose
bib or a faucet.
You could pick up one of these gauges at
any home center. Most plumbing codes state that the maximum water pressure
coming in the house should be 80 PSI or less. If the water pressure exceeds
this amount, a pressure reducing valve will need to be installed on the water
main. Note that the ideal water pressure is between 50 and 60 PSI
You want to make sure that the thermostat
is not set too high. If the thermostat is set to high or if it’s faulty, the
T&P valve will discharge to relieve the pressure inside the tank. Remember
for a standard water heater the temperature should be set at 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
You could try flushing the T&P valve to make sure it didn’t become filled
by sediment.
Ways to Save on Your Water Heating Bill
Heating a home is expensive, but so is
heating water. If you’ve already made a big effort to reduce your home’s heating
costs and your utility bills are still higher than you’d like them to be, your
hot water heater could be the culprit. According to Energy.gov, heating water
accounts for around 18 percent of your utility bill. That makes it the
second-biggest energy expense in the home (behind heating and cooling), so
tweaking your hot water heater set up and usage habits could lead to some
pretty substantial savings.
Lower the Thermostat
Take a trip out to the garage or down to
the basement to see what temperature your hot water heater is currently set at.
If the thermostat is set above 120 degrees Fahrenheit, bump it back. You’ll
save 3 to 5 percent for every 10-degree reduction, and you’ll reduce your
family’s risk of burns.
Fix Leaky Faucets
Do you have a leaky faucet that you’ve been
putting off fixing? Then consider this: a faucet with a slow leak (that’s 60
drips per minute) wastes 3,153 gallons of water per year. If that leak happens
to be coming from the hot water tap, you’re not only paying for that wasted
water but also the energy it took to heat it. Do you want to see how much your
leaky faucet is costing you? The American Water Works Association has a drip
calculator you can use to find out.
Go Low-Flow
Putting off a bathroom update is one thing,
but don’t put off replacing old plumbing fixtures. If your showerheads and
faucets were manufactured before 1992, replace them with low-flow models.
Modern showerheads use half as much water as older showerheads.
Find Ways to Use Less Hot Water
Try to be more mindful of your hot water
use. Take shorter showers, wash laundry in cold water, and only run the
dishwasher when it’s full. Examine your daily routine, and look for
opportunities to scale back on your hot water usage.
Domestic water heating
Domestic water heating is the process of
warming water for personal use, and it can consume a large amount of energy. In
homes, water heating can consume 15-25 percent of energy used in a home
depending on the house type, number of inhabitants, and the lifestyle of those
who live there. It’s important to note that water heating is often more than
all of the electrical needs of the household, see graph below.
use – on average – 75 liters of hot water
each day for dish washing, clothes washing, cleaning, and personal hygiene.
This water volume is fairly high, and heating it can result in high energy
bills
The energy source for water heaters tends
to be the same as what people use for space heating, although this is not
always true. Possible energy sources include electricity, natural gas, propane,
and oil
Each source has its own benefits and
drawbacks. For example, electric heaters require no venting but cannot operate
during a power failure and use a lot more primary energy than natural gas.
Natural gas fueled heaters require adequate airflow and ventilation but heat up
more quickly and use less primary energy. Propane has similar benefits to
natural gas, but the fuel is more expensive and requires scheduled delivery.
Costs can be reduced by choosing a more
energy efficient water heater, reducing the amount of hot water used, or
installing a drain water heat recovery device to reduce the heating load. These
devices are simply pipes that take the heat from the used warm water flowing
down the drains and transfers it to preheat water entering the hot water tank
Some Useful Tips For Hiding Water Heater In
your Home
Water heaters without any doubt are a must
as far as our homes are concerned. They provide hot and pure water for various
uses during the cruel winter months. However, there are a few things which must
be kept in mind when installing a hide water heater. They could become a big
eye sore and could spoil the overall aesthetics of your home. There is no point
spending hundreds or even a few thousand dollars on your best tankless water
heater if they become an eyesore for the home.
However, it is possible to find out ways
and means by which you can conceal water heater and prevent it from being seen
by the naked eye. But this has to be done carefully and without the disturbing
the efficiency and functionality of these water heaters. Here are a few
important points which if kept in mind could help in more ways than one.
Getting The Basics Right
It is important for you to get the basics
right when it comes to hiding your water heater. You must have a permanent
place for the same so that you can plan ahead and come out with the right plan
for hiding it or concealing it. Before buying a water heater, you must ask some
basic questions.
This could include the size of the water
heater, the capacity it is supposed to hold, the power connections which are
required for it and much more. This will help you to come out with the right
plan for keeping the water heater hidden from the naked eye without disturbing
the efficiency or defeating the purpose for which it is being used. You can
consider using a hybrid water heater.
Using A Cloth Or A Pegboard Screen
If you look around you could come out with
a number of options for hiding the water heater. In many cases you also could
have a water softener which also could become unseemly and ugly. Hence your
plan for concealing the water heater should be foolproof, practical and
workable from the long term perspective.
CORRECT COMMERCIAL WATER HEATER SIZING:
IT’S NO GUESSING GAME
When you’re in the market for a new or
replacement water heater for your restaurant, hotel or apartment property,
correct sizing is crucial to the success of your business. With so many
commercial water heater options out there, here’s what you need to know to get
it right.
Depending on how much hot water you need to
run your business, there may be multiple commercial water heater tank sizes to
meet your needs. With so many options available, how do you know what type and
size water heater to choose? We can help point you in the right direction.
What You Need: A steady supply of hot
water, when and where you need it–so your restaurant, hotel, apartment or craft
brewery business keeps running smoothly.
The Bottom Line: Size too small and you
won’t have enough hot water to run your business, especially during peak
operating times. But size too large and you’ll end up spending excess money in
both upfront capital and long-term operating costs. Whether you run a
restaurant, hotel, apartment complex, senior living facility, salon or fitness
center—any business that depends on hot water needs the right water heater
sizing and setup.
Our Best Advice: Only work with experienced
and knowledgeable commercial water heater professionals: you’ll not only keep
your customers, you’ll also save money across the board.