On 29-Mar-2004, Bill Vajk wrote:

Your numbers are nice and thanks for posting the info,
however it seems to me 114 is a little on the low end,
with 120-125 being more common and I run my domestic
hot water at 140F.

Since the energy loss is directly proportional to the temperature differential
of the stored water and the air temperature around the tank, it's easy to
calculate how much more it would cost to maintain the water at 140F.

Assuming a room temperature of 61 degrees F around the water heater:

Cost to maintain water at 114F with 8 cents/KWH cost = $4.00/month (53 degree
differential)

Cost to maintain water at 140F with 8 cents/KWH cost = $5.96/month (79 degree
differential)