Green Home Improvements – Live Better & Save Money!

Searching the Internet looking for “Green” home improvements? Home improvement projects that will improve your life or save you money? One that is friendly to the environment?

Green Plumbing Saves Energy Water and Money!

Well I have a suggestion; look at your plumbing. A Green plumbing system can provide you with convenience and save you energy, water, and money. At the same time you will be reducing your carbon footprint. When you reduce energy and water usage you reduce green house gasses being released into the atmosphere from treating and pumping both the potable water and the sewage in addition to any direct savings of energy.

Tankless Water Heaters Are Green

Energy efficiency is one of the advantages of a tankless water heater. Since tankless water heaters don’t have a tank full of hot water radiating heat 24 hours a day, they use less energy in most situations. Another advantage that tankless hot water heaters have over traditional tank type water heaters is that you never run out of hot water.

Currently there are big tax credits being allowed for tankless water heaters, I think it’s possible to get up to 30% of the cost in credits, but I’m not sure and you should check the tankless water heater sites if you are interested in the credits. The sites are all touting the tax credits at the moment.

In some areas there are rebates for tankless hot water heaters being offered by various agencies like water companies and power companies… be sure to check your local government agencies to find any rebates that may pertain to your green home improvements.

Green Plumbing Products

Another green plumbing product is the hot water demand system. Hot water demand systems are pumps and valves that typically install under your sink, and pump the water from your water heater to your fixture at high speed, using the cold water line to return the cooled off hot water that typically sits in the hot water piping. When the hot water reaches your fixtures the pump shuts off to prevent hot water from getting into the cold water piping.

Hot water demand systems save you water energy and money. Every time you turn on the hot water faucet and then wait for hot water to reach you, while running gallons of water down the drain, you are causing more green house gasses to be released, and wasting energy and water.

Combine a Tankless Water Heater and a Pump

By combining a tankless water heater and a hot water demand system you get one of the greenest home improvements you can make for a reasonable investment. You are saving both energy and water. Tankless water heaters take a little longer to get hot water to your fixtures since they must first heat the water where a tank type water heater has hot water ready to go. This makes a hot water demand system that much more desirable.

Adding the convenience of instant hot water when you turn on the spigot makes your life better and saves water, energy, money, and turns your plumbing green reducing your carbon foot print.

The Chilipepper hot water demand system works with any hot water heater, tankless or tank type, and uses less than $2.00 per year in electricity costs. A great green home improvements idea.

Bill the Hot Water Guy

Instant Hot Water! – Home Improvement Idea

There are a lot of home improvement ideas floating around out there, and every one has his own opinion of what a good home improvement idea is. Well I think instant hot water from your fixtures is a great idea! It will save you not only time, but thousands of gallons of water, and it can save you energy too.

Saving water and energy means you are reducing your carbon footprint and taking steps to going green. Help yourself and help our planet at the same time.

Probably most people don’t think about plumbing when they think about home improvement projects. After all, the plumbing layout has been already implemented and so changing the plumbing system into a green system by improving the plumbing layout is an unlikely project.

However, fast hot water is easy to obtain by using a hot water demand system.

Few would argue that it’s no fun standing there waiting for the hot water to arrive at the fixture. You stand there and watch the water run down the drain. But you don’t have to; you can install a hot water demand system in a single afternoon. Demand hot water system pumps can be obtained for less than $200, making it a fast and inexpensive home improvement idea or do-it-yourself project.

A demand hot water system delivers the hot water from your existing water heater at a higher flow rate than your faucet can deliver. That way the hot water gets to the fixture more quickly reducing your wait time.

More importantly, you don’t run water down the drain while you wait. When you turn on the fixture you get instant hot water. The demand pump connects between your hot and cold water lines under the furthest sink from your water heater. When you want hot water you “demand” it by pressing a button.

The pump starts up and send hot water to the fixture in seconds, returning the cooled off hot water that was in the hot water pipes back to the water heater through the existing cold water lines. When hot water reaches the pump, it shuts off. Now when your turn the spigot you get instant hot water.

Some models of demand hot water systems connect up to your plumbing with faucet supply hoses just like the ones already under your sink.

Hot water demand systems can also operate with tankless water heaters unlike traditional hot water recirculation systems. Just make sure the demand hot water system you purchase is powerful enough to turn on your tankless water heater. Some models like the Metlund S-50T and S-70T don’t have much power, and won’t turn on many models of tankless water heaters.
These quick hot water systems, at least the demand systems, use very little electricity since they run for such a short time, and only when you demand it. Typically they consume less than $2.00 per year in electricity costs.

With all the benefits of saved time, saved water, saved energy and reduced carbon foot print and the small initial investment, a hot water demand system should be in nearly every home. Don’t wait any longer, install a hot water demand system today and get instant hot water when you turn on your fixture – a great home improvement idea!

Hot Water Recirculation – Instant Hot Water Systems Explained

Hot water recirculation systems are often referred to by a variety of names, all meaning pretty much the same thing. Recirc pumps, recirculation pumps, recirculating pumps, and circulation pumps are all the same.

In our context they all refer to the practice of circulating hot water through your plumbing so that you have quick hot water and don waste water running it down the drain while you are waiting. As with most good things there are trade-offs with hot water recirculation systems.

First, let’s examine a basic recirculation system and get familiar with how it works. The system consists of the water heater, a pump, and a loop of pipe coming from the outlet of the water heater, going from sink to sink in a looped fashion, and returning from the last sink back to the pump which has its outlet connected to either the inlet to the water heater or to the drain valve.

Recirc pumps
Often called recirc pumps, as well as recirculation pumps etc. the hot water circulating pumps are designed to slowly circulate the hot water through the piping at a low velocity. There is no need for high flow since a nice low flow still keeps the water piping hot through the entire system. High flow rates run continuously can also lead to pipe erosion and eventually require replacement of the pipes.

Instant Hot Water

As you can see, such a system will provide you with nearly instant hot water. This can save tremendous amounts of water that would have been run down the drain while you waited for the hot water to arrive at the fixture. The penalty you pay is in the cost of the energy consumed keeping your giant radiator system hot.

The water heater has to fire up more often and for longer to keep the temperature from falling as the heat energy is let loose on the environment.

You can minimize your energy costs by putting the pump on a timer so that it only runs when there are people around that may want to use hot water. Leave it off late at night and during the day if no one is home during the day. It still wastes a lot of energy but you can easily cut your losses in half in most cases.

The downside is of course, if you want hot water when the pump is not running you will have a lengthy wait. If you don’t have a length wait you probably didn’t need a hot water recirculation system to begin with.

Another way to control the traditional hot water recirculation systems is with temperature control. Have the pump turn on when the temperature drops to some pre-set value, like 100 degrees, and when the temperature reaches 120 degrees turn the pump off. The temperature sensor is called an aquastat, and usually clamps onto the hot water pipe near the pump.

Since you still have piping full of hot water for long periods of time you are still wasting a lot of energy.

If you do have a hot water recirculation system you should insulate all of the hot water piping to minimize the heat loss.

Tankless Water Heaters

Tankless water heaters generally don’t work with hot water circulating systems since for one thing most hot water pumps don’t produce enough flow to turn on tankless water heaters. They usually require at least ½ gallon per minute to operate.

Hot water recirc systems also cause the water heater to cycle on and off frequently since there is no tank for storage. With many brands of tankless water heaters a hot water circ system will void the warranty.

Tankless water heaters take longer to deliver hot water than tank type water heaters and so it’s too bad hot water recirculation systems don’t work with them.

Well that’s about it for hot water recirculation systems, a water heater, a pump, some hot water piping and a few faucets. Don’t forget the pipe insulation.

Bill the Hot Water Guy

Easy Home Improvement Project – Go Green with Your Plumbing

Looking for an easy project that you can do to improve your home? How about going green with your plumbing? By making your home more energy efficient and water efficient you’re are improving the resale value of your home and providing yourself with reduced water and energy bills and added convenience.

If you have to wait for an extended period of time to get your hot water you are a good candidate for one of the many instant hot water systems. Most don’t really provide you with “instant” hot water, but can considerably reduce your wait time, and can even nearly eliminate running water down the drain while you wait.

There are a couple of retro-fit friendly instant or more appropriately fast hot water systems that are easy to install with no major changes required for your plumbing layout. Although these fast hot water delivery systems install under the sink, they are not to be confused with under the sink water heaters. They make a good one-afternoon home improvement project for almost any skill level. If you can change a supply hose you can install one of these systems.

There are basically two types of systems, luke-warm circulating systems like the Laing Autocirc1, and the RedyTemp, and hot water demand systems such as the Metlund system and the Chilipepper pump.

The warm water circulating systems are small pumps designed to circulate the water from the water heater through the piping and on back to the water heater. When the pump senses the temperature has reached the lower set point, about 90 degrees, then it turns on until the pump senses the upper temperature, about 100 degrees, when it shuts off the pump. The system does this over and over keeping the water in the piping warm.

You end up paying for all that heat energy it takes to keep the piping warm. You also no longer have cold water in your cold water pipes. Now it’s warm.

The second type of system is known as a hot water demand system, and the pump only pumps the water to the fixture when you demand it by pressing a button. Hot water demand systems make a better home improvement project because they provide even more convenience and use less energy than the recirculating systems and will really add to the green aspects of your plumbing system.

Again, the pump mounts under the sink and is easy to hook up. With the demand system when the hot water reaches the pump the pump shuts off so you don’t end up with hot water in the cold water pipes.

Demand systems don’t run very long or very often so they typically use about $1.00 per year in electricity, and you don’t run any water down the drain waiting for hot water. They don’t use any more energy than a system with no pump since they only fill the pipe between the water heater and the fixture, just like if you ran the faucet.

If you’re looking for an easy home improvement project you can complete in a weekend, one that will add value to your home, and will provide you with lasting benefits like faster hot water, water savings, and energy savings, then install a demand system today!

Going Green? – Water Conservation Products

What is green plumbing? Well, green plumbing when applied to residential plumbing layouts, would mean plumbing that reduces your energy and or water wastage; an efficient plumbing system.

There are a variety of products out there that can save you water, but some are counter productive and some are a pain in the you-know-what. Others are certainly worthwhile and can even save you money.

The biggest factor involved in water and energy wastage is human behavior. It’s our behaviors that waste the most energy and the most water. We all do it… leave lights on, leave water running when not necessary, linger in the shower… Going green seems to often lead to less convenience. But humans are after exactly that… convenience. That’s why microwave ovens, took off. Dishwashers, washing machines, trash compactors, automatic sprinkler systems, it’s all about convenience.

Some water conservation products address these behaviors. Low flow fixtures reduce the rate at which water flows from a fixture, so we use less water when we leave it running. This can be an inconvenience though, when you have to stand there and wait longer to fill up that pitcher or sink. Low flow toilets that don’t always work with one flush.

There are numerous “gray water” systems that reclaim waste water like from your washing machine to use in flushing toilets or watering the lawn.

It’s not hard to find water saving appliances such as dishwashers and washing machines. Probably all of them now at least have water conservation cycles or modes. I recently was talking to a guy who had just bought a new Bosch water conserving dishwasher. He was having a problem because the dishwasher didn’t draw a high enough flow of water to turn on the water heater. To get clean dishes he has to run hot water in the sink while the dishwasher fills. So much for water conservation.

There are some water conservation products which do offer both convenience and save water. The Chilipepper hot water demand system is one such water conservation product. It gets you your hot water faster and you don’t run any water down the drain. The pump is very efficient consuming less than $2.00 per year in electricity to operate. Not only are you saving water and energy with the Chilipepper, but you are also reducing your carbon foot print.

Every gallon of water that you do not dump down the drain is one gallon less sewage that has to be treated and pumped etc which in turn uses less energy and thus results in reduced green house gas being released into the atmosphere.

Don’t confuse the Chilipepper hot water demand systems with one of those “luke warm circulating systems” on the market like the Laing Autocirc, the Grundfos Comfort System, and the Watts Premier.
These systems circulate warm water through the hot water piping and the cold water piping, but in doing so consume a lot of energy making your water heater work harder and costing you money. You also end up with less than cold water in your cold water lines and you must purge those lines of the lukewarm water to get cold water from the faucet.

Tankless water heaters typically take longer to get hot water to your fixtures wasting more water than hot water systems that use tank type water heaters. The good news is the Chilipepper works with any brand of tankless water heaters including Rinnai water heaters, Takagi water heaters, Bosch water heaters, Rheem water heaters, Noritz water heaters, and all other brands too.

So go green and install a hot water demand system. It’s a very earth friendly thing to do. You will feel good about what you are doing for the planet and you get the added convenience of fast hot water!

Tankless Water Heaters – Color Yours Green!

Going green is getting to be quite a popular thing to do these days. Many people are purchasing tankless water heaters with the idea that they are purchasing a “green plumbing product”. But just how green are they?

Well, are they greener than a standard tank type water heater? They are not more efficient at heating water than electric storage water heaters or gas water heaters. However, they do not have a storage tank and therefore do not suffer the standby losses that a tank type heater has.

Water Heater Standby Losses

Standby losses result from heat energy leaking out of the tank of hot water. Even if you don’t use any hot water, the heat keeps leaking out, and eventually the water temperature inside the heater drops to below the thermostat set point and the heater comes on heating the water back up to full temperature and the process continues in an endless cycle.

With a well insulated tank the standby losses aren’t particularly large. You will save some energy but not a lot with a tankless water heater compared to a tank type water heater.

Endless Hot Water VS Human Behavior

Human behavior is probably a more significant contributor to going green. For instance, since you never run out of hot water with a tankless water heater, you may end up taking longer showers. It doesn’t take much additional shower time to completely obliterate any savings due to reduced standby losses.

It takes tankless water heaters longer to get hot water to the fixtures than it does a storage type water heater, so more people will turn on the hot water and do something else before coming back to take the shower. By that time hot water is running down the drain; a waste of both water and energy.

Point of use water heaters

Just the fact that the tankless water heaters take longer to deliver hot water to the fixtures means that more water will be wasted with tankless units. That is hardly going green.

Point of use tankless water heaters do not suffer this water conservation problem. If the plumbing layout is such that the water heater is very close to the fixtures then you have a green plumbing system… saving water and energy both at once. If you are contemplating building a new home you should consider using a green plumbing layout.

Both water and energy will continue to get more expensive and by planning ahead you could end up saving thousands of dollars over the life of your home.

Water Heater Pumps

If you don’t have a green plumbing layout then you might want to consider using a water heater pump to speed up your hot water and eliminate running the cooled off hot water left over in your pipes from the last hot water use down the drain.

You gain the convenience of faster hot water and you save a lot of water.

Hot water recirculation pumps

One class of pumps is the old standard circulating pumps, often referred to as “recirc pumps”. They slowly circulate hot water through the hot water piping system to keep hot water in the pipes at all times. You have “instant hot water” whenever you want it.

These pumps can be placed on timers so they don’t run during periods when no hot water is expected to be needed… like late at night.

They are extremely wasteful of energy, but save plenty of water.

Laing Autocirc, Watts Premier, and Grundfos

Laing, Watts, RedyTemp, and Grundfos all manufacture hot water pumps that are basically a modified version of the old standard recirc pumps. Instead of keeping the piping full of hot water these pumps keep the pipes full of lukewarm water and generally utilize the cold water pipes as a return line.

They don’t waste as much energy as the older systems, but they still waste significant amounts of energy, and many users complain that the cold water is no longer cold…it’s lukewarm and they don’t like that.

These systems generally will not work with tankless water heaters because they don’t pump enough water to turn on the water heater. Many tankless water heaters are not compatible with circulating system and will void the warranty when one is used.

Metlund, Chilipepper – Tankless Water Heater Pumps

There are a class of pumps known as “hot water demand pumps” that are compatible with tankless water heaters and standard storage water heaters as well. Demand pumps are only activated when the user pushes a button “demanding” hot water. The pump comes on and sends hot water to the fixture at high speed and shuts off when the hot water arrives.

As long as the pump you use is powerful enough to turn on the tankless water heater, then it will work and won’t affect the warranty. It provides you with water savings and after the pump shuts off you have instant hot water at your fixture. Some models are as little as $179.00. They use very little energy since the pump only runs when you request hot water and typically use less than $2.00 per year in electricity costs.

Hot water demand systems are truly green plumbing products and should be at the top of your list of water conservation products.

Hot Water Recirculation System? Replace it with a Demand System!

Many residential single family and multi-family homes built in the past have full time hot water recirculation pumps and systems installed. This no doubt saves a whole lot of water, but it also wastes a tremendous amount of energy.

Hot water recirculation

Recirculating systems were typically used in larger homes, say 3,000 square feet and up. Long pipes mean long waits, and if you could afford a big house you didn’t want to have to wait forever for the hot water to arrive.

Full time recirculation systems slowly circulate the hot water through the hot water piping keeping the water in the pipes hot for instant use. Turn on a faucet and within a second or two you have hot water. It’s a great convenience, but there is a penalty to pay.

Wasting energy

Your hot water plumbing becomes a giant heat exchanger causing your water heater to fire more often and longer. Not only does this waste a huge amount of energy, but it substantially increases the wear and tear on your water heater.

Even if you heavily insulate the pipes and put the recirc pump on a clock timer, you still end up spending a lot of money for that wasted energy. It’s not helping your carbon footprint either.

Hot water demand systems

A demand hot water system on the other hand will still save you thousands of gallons of water each year, and it won’t waste any energy. Demand pumping systems typically use about $1.00 per year in electricity to run the pump. This is because the pump only runs for a few seconds and only when you really want hot water.

With a demand system, you simply push a button when you want hot water, and that starts the pump. The pump sends the water to the fixture at a faster rate than if the faucet was just run. When the hot water reaches the fixture, the pump shuts off, and when you turn on the faucet you have instant hot water. No water was run down the drain.

Installation is easy. Simply remove the old pump and replace it with the demand pump. Buttons can be hard-wired from the points of use, or wireless switches can be used.

You will still save water, and you will save energy and extend the life of your water heater. Best of all you will feel good every time you use your hot water knowing that you are doing your part to reduce global warming!