Scalding
Scalding
Each year, approximately 3,800 injuries and 34 deaths occur in the home due to scalding from excessively hot tap water. The majority of these accidents involve the elderly and children under the age of five. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) urges all users to lower their water heaters to 120o Fahrenheit. In addition to preventing accidents, this decrease in temperature will conserve energy and save money.
Most adults will suffer third-degree burns if exposed to 150o water for two seconds. Burns will also occur with a five-second exposure to 140o water or with a fifteen second exposure to 130o water. Even if the temperature is 120o, a five minute exposure could result in third-degree burns. The following chart shows just how dangerous hot water can be.
You can see from this chart that if an individual should come into contact with hot water, the temperature of the water would make the difference between whether he or she gets burned or not. If your hot water system is set at 150oF (66oC) and you come into contact with the hot water for just 2 seconds, you will receive a burn bad enough to require medical treatment.
Through the use of EDC Technologies hot water controls, your hot water environment is controlled, providing your tenants adequate hot water throughout your demand cycle. Because the system is controlled and monitored, your tenants are provided a safe environment, free of exposure to potentially dangerous temperatures. EDC Technologies not only controls the temperatures being delivered to your tenants, but we also record the temperatures at which water is returned to the system. As a landlord, having recorded data provides a detailed record of the temperatures within your environment during all timeframes. Should a potentially dangerous temperature spike occur, we will notify you so that the issue can be addressed before it becomes serious.
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