How does the water that comes out of our sink and shower faucets change temperature when we move the handle(s) back and forth? How does it know to go from hot to cold and visa versa?
In: Engineering
[This is a water heater](https://hbmcclure.com/wp-content/uploads/HBMcClure-Equip-WaterHeater-01-copy-682×1024.jpg), it takes in a large tank of water and heats it up with either gas flame or electrical heater coils. You’ll have one somewhere in the basement.
In your house, you have [hot pipes and cold pipes](https://paulmaguirephoto.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/f35333.jpg) bringing hot water (from the heater) and cold water (straight from the city supply) to your faucets and sinks. [Under your sink](https://previews.123rf.com/images/mettus/mettus1603/mettus160300194/54097291-two-flexible-water-pipes-for-cold-and-hot-water-connected-in-to-the-home-boiler-in-bathroom.jpg) you’ll see hot water and cold water connected to the faucets.
[The faucet](http://sc04.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1uYCLKeySBuNjy1zdq6xPxFXai.jpg) just combines the hot and the cold, more hot or more cold, depending on how you adjust the knobs. The knobs simply let more (hot or cold) water through when you twist them.
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