Our household has shrunk a lot this year, with dc off to university and jobs. We have gone from 6 people having 4 morning showers and 2 evening showers to 3 people having 1 morning, 1 evening, and 1 random. We used to have the thermostat on the hot water tank set very high so that you could get four showers out of one tank.
It seemed wasteful to heat the whole tank for one person, so we turned the tank thermostat down. Now I use much more of the heated water than before for my morning shower.
But if I use most of the tank for my shower, then the middle-of-the-day showerer (dh after a run) has to boost the heating in order to have enough hot water. Which he wouldn't have to do if the tank was hotter and he could use the hot water left after my shower.
Is turning down the tank thermostat actually worth doing?