In most North American homes, hot water availability is something we just take for granted. Even in the most budget friendly living arrangements, people have access to hot water.
Several months ago, the hot water situation in my building changed slightly. I can’t nail down the time window exactly but at night, the hot water supply is heated to a lower temperature compared to the daytime. Normally, in my building if you turn on the hot water to the highest setting it gets hot enough that you could burn yourself if you exposed it to your skin for long enough. It gets plenty hot.
A while ago, I noticed that sometime during the night, after midnight or so, it no longer gets that hot. I can turn on the hot water all the way and it’s basically warm water, no chance of injuring yourself at all. This was never mentioned in any of the strata meetings so I have no idea why this was done deliberately. If I had to guess, it’s a cost savings measure. The boilers were probably programmed to lower the temperature of the hot water during the night so it takes less electricity or energy to operate the boilers when people are using the hot water less. This sorta makes sense, why waste money and energy to keep water at a certain temperature when the demand is so low?
I do feel sorry for the late-night owls like myself though, I certainly do not wash my dishes or shower during this time window because the lower water temperatures are challenging for those activities. Does anyone else experience this in their building?