Recent heat, and tapwater, idle speculation.

Jul 03, 2025 Last reply: 1 year ago 5 Replies

SWMBO commented that the water coming out of the cold (direct mains) tap was warmer than usual. And I tend to agree.



Without arsing around with thermometers and all that malarkey I wonder how the recent heat may have raised temperature of water underground. If at all.



I am aware that the fact the pipes must run in open air in the house (Mondays temperature 29C) may have some effect.



However a very unscientific messing around with Chatbots suggests that the 1,5C above SNT that I logged for all of June may equate to


Extra continuous radiative input: ~ 6.8 W/m²



Total extra energy in June 2025: ~ 17.6 MJ per square metre



This estimate assumes black-body emission into clear sky—it doesn’t account for clouds, humidity, or circulation, but gives a solid first- order approximation of the energy difference tied to a 1.5 °C anomaly.



Let me know if you'd like the same calculation applied to July or using humidity corrections!


Possibly long pipe runs (miles) under tarmac roads.

I have an electric shower run directly off the rising main. This time of year I have to reduce the heating input or it runs significantly hotter, indicating the the incoming water is at a higher temperature.

Yes, we have that every year. There is a long run (30+ft) from the main to the shower through the loft, where it can reach 40C easily.

Conversely the opposite is the case in Winter, it takes the boiler a few seconds more to reach the set temperature in our shower.

In my case it's not necessarily static water in the pipe heating up in the house. The shower can be used after the incoming water has been run downstairs for 5 minutes or more and the shower used for 5 minutes. The water is still at the temperature where the shower heating is turned down.

When I did open water swimming there seemed to be a good correlation between river temperature and the cold tap temperature give or take a day or two.

Join the Discussion

Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.

Didn't find your answer?

Ask the community — no account required