The energy used by water heaters is a significant portion of the typical home's utility bill; people spend about 14 percent of their energy bills heating water. To conserve energy, set your water heater to no higher than 120 degrees or the minimum setting.

Adjust the hot water temperature on your electric water heater by following these steps:

• Shut off the electricity to the water heater at the house electrical panel by turning the water heater circuit breaker to the OFF position, or by removing from the fuse box both fuses that serve the water heater.
• The water heater has two thermostats - an upper and a lower thermostat. To access them, remove the upper and lower panels and pull aside the insulation material.
• Use a small screwdriver to turn the thermostat to 120 degrees. When adjusting the thermostat, do not touch any other screws or wires.
• Replace the access panels and turn the circuit breaker back on.