1. Water Temperature
Lower your water heater temperature to 120°F or WARM.
Put a leaf on the tree if you already have set at least one water heater to the lower temperature, above, or plan to do so for your challenge.
It costs nothing to turn down your heater.
Typical savings are 3%–5% of energy costs for each 10ºF reduction in water temperature. A water heater is typically at 140°F when it is turned up high.
Water heating can account for 14%–25% of the energy consumed in your home.
Water heater thermostats are notoriously inaccurate, so just turn yours down little by little, until the water is just hot enough for your needs.
Turn the water heater down even lower when you go on vacation.
If half of the households in America turned down their water heaters by 10° F, we could prevent 239 million tons of carbon dioxide from being emitted each year.
Read more of what the US Department of Energy has to say here.