Household / Water Heaters / Whirlpool Energy Smart Hot Water Heater

I was in my wash room a few months ago and found water on the floor. 

At first I thought my kids had spilt something. 

 Come to find out, my hot water heater was leaking.
I called my dad.  He came and said there was no hope for this one.


My mother was in town at the time, so I called her.  I asked her to stop by Lowes and pick me up one.  I told her to get a water heater that will save me money.
She came back with a Whirlpool 40 gallon 12 year Energy Smart Electric Water Heater. It says it uses  around $379 worth of electricity on an average year.
The cost was around $350, plus I had to buy a connection kit that cost around $22.


This water heater is pretty cool.
At the top it has two knobs.
One is to set a temperature and it has a suggested setting on it.


The other knob is for the operation mode.
It has four setting on it.


1. Setting is smart mode----this will allow the owner to set the temperature.
2. Setting is energy smart mode----this mode adjusts the water temperature to the lowest temperature required to meet the household demands.  This mode will not adjust the temperature higher than the owner's selected set point or lower than 115*F.
3.  Setting is Low Temperature Mode----this limits the water temperature to 120*F or at the temperature selected whichever is lower.
4.  Setting is the Vacation Mode---this will adjust the water temperature to approximately 50*F.  This is recommended when the a=water heater is not use for a long time.  This effectively turns the water heater off and prevents the water from freezing.
I think the different modes on this control panel is wonderful.  Who wants to pay for heating water when you know your not going to be at home for a few days or weeks.

The panel also has a light on it.  The light can mean a few different things.
1.The light is on--- shows the power and heater is working correctly.
2.   The light off---shows there is a problem with the power or the heater.
3.   The light flashing once---shows that you turned the power on before the tank was filled up.
4.   The light flashing twice---shows the high limit temperature has been reached.
5.   The light flashing three times---shows there is a problem with the temperature sensors.
6.   The light flashing four times---means you should check the upper elements.
7.   The light flashing five times---means you should check the lower elements.
I really like this because it takes the guessing out of it, if it quits working.  And that in itself, can save money from hiring a repair man, just because you will know what the problem is.

This also has a reset button.  You can use this, if the system is not working right.  And it also dose a self diagnostics check before it goes back to the normal operations.
I think that's nice, to have.
I have a 12 year limited warranty. 
I am glad I started this review, because I just realized it has a warranty registration on it.   I need to do that.
The warranty information is like Spanish to me.  The way its worded, all of it is way over my head.  So if something goes wrong with this, I can only hope, it will be covered.  But I have found a good way to keep up with all of this information.  I put it all in a gallon Ziploc bag, and taped it to the side of the hot water heater.