4 Facts About Hot Water Temperature in Queensland
In every household people have a different preference of how warm a shower should be. But you may be thinking your hot water is too hot to cold, or just wondering what it should be. Across Australia there are hot water temperature regulations designed to keep us safe. So what do you need to know about the hot water temperature regulations in Queensland? It's notoriously difficult to find a neat summary of the complex and often intersecting rules, regulations and laws in a single place - so that's exactly what our Gold Coast plumbers have done in this post.
Hot Water Temperature Regulations QLD
1. Minimum temperature
First up, the Queensland state government is very strict about requiring that any hot water that is stored in your residential hot water system is kept at least at 60°C. Why's that? Because at 60°C, Legionella simply cannot survive - and Queensland Health says that without treatment, this bacteria can cause disease so serious that it can lead to "kidney failure and death".
2. Maximum temperature
While super-hot water makes sense from the perspective of Legionnaires' Disease, being exposed to water at 60°C causes second-degree burns in just 3 seconds. Add another 2 seconds to that, meanwhile, and the scalding injury is extremely serious - and we're talking about full-thickness third-degree burns.
Therefore, Queensland regulations forbid anything more than 50°C water being delivered to your actual domestic hot taps - because that 10°C difference is the difference between serious injury in seconds to very little risk over the course of several minutes of exposure.
3. Exceptions
50°C, however, is the maximum value for a normal household. For situations like aged care facilities, patient areas of hospitals, kindergartens and schools, however, the water is actually limited to 45°C, further reducing the risk for the most vulnerable.
4. Temperature control device
So with water needing to be stored at 60°C but delivered to the taps at 50°C or 45°C, what's the solution? According to the Queensland government, the answer is a "temperature control device", which is then set to limit the water delivered from the hot water system to the actual pipes at no more than the allowed value.
5. Tempering valve
Now, while the 'temperature control device' could in fact be a thermostatic mixing valve, a thermostatically controlled tap or a temperature-limited hot water system, in most cases a house's water temperature is regulated by a hot water tempering valve. Now, while there are different types, what they all have in common is that it precisely mixes some cold water in with the scalding 60°C water to achieve the safe and required water temperature for the home.
Ask In Deep Plumbing about hot water temperature
Need to know more about Queensland's hot water temperature regulations? Why not ask In Deep Plumbing's most skilful, experienced and fully-licensed hot water plumbers, servicing the Gold Coast and surrounding beautiful regions and communities like Carrara, Benowa, Ashmore, Broadbeach Waters, Merrimac, Nerang, Robina and more!
For hot water inspections, testing, maintenance, repairs and full replacements, get in touch with the friendly team at In Deep Plumbing today.
