Solar Water Heaters Save Energy – Now Add Water Savings

Instant Hot Water Will Save You Water and Money!

Now that you’ve heated your water for free from the sun, it’s time to address the hot water delivery system. Stop standing there with your hand in the shower stream waiting for the water to get hot! Sending water down the drain while you wait just makes it that much worse. But there is a solution!

Demand Hot Water Pumps Save Water

A demand system pumps the hot water from your water heater to your fixture at fast without running any water down the drain. When hot water reaches the pump, it shuts off.

Turn On the Tap and Get Instant Hot Water

Now when you turn on the tap you have nearly instant hot water. When you desire hot water you just push the start button and the pump starts up, pumping the water from the water heater to the sink. At the same time it sends the cooled-off hot water in the back to the heater through the cold water lines.

Solar Powered Water Heater – Any Kind

Demand systems will work with any type of water heater including any kind of solar water heater. Direct, indirect, batch, or any other kind of solar installation will work with a demand system.

The longer the pipes the more wait time you have for hot water and the more water gets run down the drain. Often solar water heaters have more piping than standard water heater installations. This is especially true for batch type systems that have a storage tank of hot water up on the roof.

Hot water demand system pumps use very little electricity for their operation, normally less than $2.00 per year in electricity costs. Demand pumps use no more energy than if you did not have one, other than that $2.00 in electricity.

A hot water demand pump does nearly the same thing you do… turn on the hot water until it reaches the sink. The demand pump usually pumps the water to the fixture much more quickly than just running the water down the drain.

Low flow fixtures cause slow hot water.

The time it takes for water to reach the fixture is determined by the diameter of the pipe and the gallons per minute of flow. Larger pipe takes longer to fill and cause longer waits.

Higher flow rates result in higher water speeds and shorter wait times. It’s impractical to change your pipe diameter; however you can raise the flow rate by not having to run water through a low flow fixture.

Bathroom sink fixtures are often one gallon per minute or less. This means a long waiting period for you to get your hot water.

The solar powered water heater efficiently heats your water; now turn your hot water plumbing layout green and make it efficient by adding a demand pump for fast hot water and water savings.

Solar water heating and hot water demand pumps are a perfect combination for ecology and environmentally conscious home owners.

You can even use tankless water heaters with your solar water heater and a demand pump for an energy efficient, water saving, hot water plumbing system that can also provide you with unlimited hot water. Combine Tankless and Solar Water Heaters

Solar Water Heaters, Tankless Water Heaters, and Hot Water Demand Systems

I was asked by a potential customer about using a solar water heater in conjunction with a tankless water heater this morning. Using a solar water heater to feed a tankless water heater is a great idea and a green idea too.

Solar water heaters come in several types including active systems including direct, indirect, and passive.

The passive solar systems locate the storage tank above the solar panels, that way the hot water rises into the storage tank, and cooler water from the tank sinks down to the bottom of the collectors. This thermo siphon cycle continues as long as the water in the collectors is being heated.

In active type solar systems a pump circulates the water from the collectors into the storage tank when the temperature in the collectors is sufficiently high and above the temperature in the tank. Some systems use an indirect method of heating the water. These indirect systems circulate a fluid through the solar collectors and then through a heat exchanger in the hot water tank.

Solar hot water tanks are very well insulated, and they do not have a flue through the center, so they have minimal standby losses.

Tankless water heaters modulate the gas burners or electric heating elements to maintain a steady pre-set outlet temperature. If you feed the inlet with the outlet from your solar water heater the tankless unit will not turn on unless the water temperature coming from the solar water hater isn’t hot enough, and if it isn’t, it will burn just enough gas or consume just enough current to keep the outlet temperature at the pre-set temperature.

You end up with a highly efficient hot water plumbing system that uses the minimum amount of energy when solar hot water is available, and you still have unlimited amounts of hot water when you need it. It’s a great way to turn your residential plumbing system green.

Adding a hot water demand system makes the system even greener. By adding the hot water pump you save water as well as energy. A demand pump uses very little energy, typically about $2.00 per year in electricity costs, and saves many thousands of gallons of water per year.

By combining all three items, solar hot water heating, tankless hot water heater, and a hot water demand system you get the greenest possible solution to your hot water problems providing you with water savings, energy savings, and the convenience of fast and endless hot water. You reduce green house gas emissions and reduce your carbon foot print and save money.

More about Solar and Tankless Combined

Green Water Heaters Have a Pump!

Some water heaters are more energy efficient than others, but not by much. Some water heaters are inherintly green, like solar water heaters. But by adding a pump any water heater can be made greener, including storage tank, tankless, solar, boiler, gas, and electric.

Tankless Hot Water

Usually it’s the tankless people that proclaim their water heaters as being green, due to the fact that they use less energy than tank type water heaters. The reason of course, is they don’t have a big hot water tank losing energy 24 hours a day. This results in a 15 to 20 percent reduction in energy consumption according to most of the tankless water heater websites.

However, according to a study of tankless water heater performance done by the Australian government, it takes tankless water heaters 10 to 20 seconds longer on average to deliver hot water to the fixtures.

Australia has a huge drought going on and saving water is very important. Since it takes longer to get hot water the user ends up running more water down the drain. Using a demand hot water system solves this problem by getting the hot water to the fixture without running any water down the drain. It’s a good tool to use as a drought solution product.

Tank Type Water Heaters – Gas or Electric

It doesn’t mater what fuel type the water heater uses, or even what kind of water heater it is. Virtually any water heater will work with a demand pumping system. Storage, tankless, solar, boiler, they all work with demand hot water pumps. As long as you have hot water piping from the heater to the fixture a water heater pump will save you water.

Water Heater Pumps Are Green

Hot water is the last bastion of water conservation potential. There are low flow fixtures, toilets, water conserving appliances, gray water systems, and all sorts of gadgets to detect leaks and whatnot. It’s time to turn our attention to the residential hot water system and start saving all that water being wasted.

Estimates at water savings due to hot water demand systems like the Chilipepper and the Metlund D’mand system range from about 10,000 gallons per year to 16,000 gallons of water per year.

Saving Water Big Time

If we use a more conservative figure, say 5,000 gallons of water each year, and we could somehow upgrade all of the single family homes in the United States, of which there are over 50,000,000 (Fifty million), the resulting water savings for the US would be 250,000,000 (two hundred fifty trillion) gallons of water per year.

There would also be two hundred fifty trillion fewer gallons of water being fed into sewer systems and thus a large amount of energy would be saved just from not having to treat the sewage that would have resulted.

Greener Tankless Hot Water

The tankless water heaters benefit even more since they waste more water due to start-up times. Someone who wants to go green and install a tankless hot water heater to save energy and reduce their carbon foot print has no excuse not to also install a water heater pump. The cost for some hot water demand systems is less than $200 and will add the savings from not wasting all of that water to your energy savings.

You will be saving energy and water and reducing your carbon footprint substantially while experiencing the convenience of fast hot water.

Check out my latest article concerning the various types of water heater pumping systems now on the market. Water Heater Pumps

Hot Water Recirculation Systems for Slow Hot Water Problems

I discovered a hot water recirculation system I had not seen before while surfing the web today, it’s called the Astro Express Hot Water Re-circulation System and it’s made by Armstrong. The system seems to be very similar if not identical to the Grundfos Comfort system. It has a pump at the water heater and a temperature controlled valve under one or more sinks.

The pump is called the “ASTRO 20 BU-T CIRCULATOR”, and the valve is called the the “ASTRO EXPRESS VALVE”. Not much special about the pump, it’s a standard hot water circulating pump with very little power… with 1/25 of a horsepower. The valve takes four hoses and is both temperature controlled and apparently adjustable.

The pump is much too small to operate a tankless water heater, so if you don’t have a tank type water heater then this device will not work for you.

I just wrote a review of the system and published it as an article on my website. Astro Express Hot Water Recirculation System

It is a warm-water circulating system that will increase the energy used and eliminate the ability to obtain “cold” water from your fixture without first purging the warm water from the cold water line. It is in the same class as the Grundfos Comfort system, the Laing Autocirc1, the RedyTemp, and others.

The Astro express system allows you to place more than one valve in the system in case you have a branched plumbing layout that has separate long pipe runs.

The pump has a built in timer so you can reduce the energy wastage by leaving the pump off during periods that you would not expect to be using hot water like when you are asleep or when no one is home during the day.

Well that’s all I have for the Astro Express Hot Water Recirculation System.

Electric Point of Use Water Heaters – Potential Cost and Installation Problems

Electric Point of Use Water Heaters – Potential Cost and Installation Problems

Small tank type electric point of use water heaters can problems when it comes to their installation including potentially high installation costs.

One of the largest problems involved with the installation of small point of use water heaters is the amount of electricity available. Usually it’s not difficult to get the wiring from an outlet above the sink to down below the sink, but often the circuit is only a 15 amp supply and it’s always 110 Volts which severely restricts the size of heater you can use.

A small point of use water heater’s electric heating element usually requires about 1,500 Watts, which requires a current draw of 12.5 amps. If you use your 1500 watt hair dryer and the heater comes on, you will blow a circuit breaker.

Point-of-use water heaters usually have a small (less than 5 gallon) tank. These heaters are not able to heat water quickly with only 1,500 watts. To quickly heat water, as with a tankless heater, we would require at least 40Amps.

If you want to use a tankless water heater you will most likely need at least 40 amps at 220volts to obtain a temperature rise of 65°F at 1.0 GPM. Most homes have a 100 amp service. In today’s energy intensive world 100 amps it is often not enough.

Upgrading your service to 200 amps can be done. If your homes power comes from overhead wires then it’s not too bad, but if your electric service comes from underground, look out, cause it’s going to be expensive.

Obtaining a service upgrade from 100 amp service to 200 amp service can cost around $ 2000 - $2,500 not including hookup to the water heater.

The kitchen often has a 20 amp service with 20 amp circuit breakers that are only used for the garbage disposal. The garbage disposal electrical service can be used to power a small point of use water heater, but running the disposal when the water heater’s electric heating elements are operating could blow the circuit breaker, and it is often against local building codes.

The Takagi T-K-Jr Tankless Hot Water Heater – A Product Review

Let’s take a brief look at the T-K Jr. the smallest water heater in the Takagi line of tankless water heaters.

According to Takagi, it can meet the hot-water needs of a small home or apartment with one or two bathrooms, as well as small commercial applications.

Takagi claims it was designed to do anything a standard 40-gallon tank-type water heater can do. The T-K Jr. works with both hydronic baseboard and radiant floor heating. It has an energy efficiency rating of .81 when burning natural gas and can provide 3.8 gallons per minute with a 60 degree temperature rise. The maximum input is 140,000 Btu.

When the water heater detects a flow of at least 0.75 gallons per minute, the heater turns on. While The computer in the controls monitors the water temperature, flow rate and gas flow.

When the burners ignite, a lamp comes on telling you the tankless water heater operating normally. The internal computer controls the gas valve and controls the water flow to maintain the preset water temperature of the water at the outlet
While reading through the owner’s manual, which you can find online at Takagi’s site, I ran found the following statement:

“The unit should be checked once a year or as necessary by a licensed technician. If repairs are needed, any repairs should be done by a licensed technician. The following systems and parts should be checked at least once a year:
1. Venting system
2. Burner
3. Manual operation of the pressure relief valve to ensure correct operation.
4. Periodic cleaning of the water filter (figure above).
5. Heat exchanger. Remove the thermistor and check for a mineral coating. A mineral
coating on the thermistor requires flushing the heat exchanger with a de-scaling
solution. Scale build up will void your warranty and shorten the life of your water
heater.”

You might have to add the cost of a yearly maintenance check to the costs of your tankless water heater, and that could reduce the savings from your tankless water heater.

Elsewhere in the Takagi site I read this:

“8. Water hardness may affect the water heater. Water heater may be damaged. The warranty will not cover damage caused by water quality.”

It’s something for you to think about if you live in a hard water area.

The Takagi T-K Jr requires a 110 Volts to operate the controls, so if there is a power failure your tankless water heater won’t be able to provide you with hot water.
The T-KJR can be used for space heating, and potable hot water heating at the same time.

The owner’s manual includes information on how to use the hot water heater for baseboard and for radiant heating applications and comes complete with diagrams of typical systems.

Turn your hot water plumbing green with an energy efficient Takagi tankless hot water heater.

Noritz Tankless Water Heater Series 531 and 631 Models – Some Interesting Facts.

I was looking over the owners manual for the Noritz tankless water heaters, models: Model N-0631S, N-0631S-OD, N-0531S, N-0531S-OD, and there were interesting thing in there.

For instance, I read the following:

“Do not drink water that has been inside the unit for an extended period of time. Do not drink the first use of hot water from the unit in the morning.”

What? Really! Why not! Don’t tell me not to drink the water and not tell me why. What is being leached into the water? Maybe there is too much solder exposed to the potable water? This needs further research, and if I find out I’ll report back about it in a future blog.

The next thing that interested me was the statement: “Clean the filter on the water inlet as
frequently as required by the quality of your local water. “I hope that isn’t often since I probably won’t ever get around to it. I peeked at the instructions about cleaning the water inlet filter, which is listed in the Noritz manual under “Periodic Maintenance”.

Here are the steps:
1. Close the water supply valve.
2. Open all hot water fixtures.
3. With a bucket ready, remove the inlet and outlet drain plugs (about 0.2 gal. will drain out)
4. Take the water drain valve (with water filter) out of the inlet. (See illustration to right).
5. Clean the water drain valve (with water filter) with a brush under running water.
6. Replace the water drain valve (with water filter) and close the drain plugs. (Take care not to lose the packing.)
7. Close all hot water fixtures.
8. Open the water supply valve and check that water does not leak from the drain plugs or water drain valve (with water filter).

I would hope that I wouldn’t have to do that very often.

In the troubleshooting section I discovered this item:

“• To keep the temperature stable, the heater limits the amount of water that can flow through it to a small amount initially, but the amount increases over time.”

Interesting, they should tell us more about this… maybe they do and I missed it.

Still in the tankless water heater trouble shooting section of the Noritz manual I came across this statement:

“• If the supply water is hard and has not been treated, scale can build-up in the water heater and decrease the maximum amount of hot water available. Scale can be removed from the water heater by flushing the unit periodically. To prevent scale from forming in the water heater, a water softener or scale inhibitor is recommended.”


Remote Control?

I never really thought about it, but that makes sense, since you may need to change the temperature setting and rather than go find the tankless water heater, you just pick up the remote in your bathroom and change the temperature setting. The remote also lets you set a pre-determined amount of water for things like filling your bathtub, although it seems to me to be a little frivolous. LOL to each his own.

Well, that’s all the interesting stuff I could find in the manual about the Noritz models Model N-0631S, N-0631S-OD, N-0531S, N-0531S-OD.

These models are great for green point of use water heater installations. Green because not only do you save energy with the tankless hot water heater, but you save water by eliminating long hot water lines. It’s about the greenest hot water plumbing you can get.