Hot Water Demand Systems & Tankless Water Heaters – Great Home Improvement Products!

If you are looking for home improvement products, here is a great combination. Tankless hot water is energy efficient but it wastes water. Adding a hot water demand system will make your tankless unit water efficient as well. It will make turn your plumbing system into a green hot water system.

Tankless water heaters are more energy efficient than standard tank type water heaters because they don’t have the standby losses of a big tank of hot water. By eliminating the standby losses associated with storage water heaters they can save about 20 percent of the energy consumed for heating water when compared with storage heaters.

However, the tankless units also take longer to deliver hot water to your fixtures. For the water to be heated to full temperature it must pass completely through the heat exchanger all the way from the inlet to the outlet. The water in the center of the heat exchanger doesn’t ever reach full temperature before it exits the heater.

Thus tankless waters take longer to get hot water to the fixture. A lot more water is being run down the drain while you are waiting. Tankless water heaters really need a hot water demand system to address this problem.

Hot water demand systems typically consist of a pump located at the furthest sink from the water heater and connected to the hot and cold water lines. When hot water is “demanded” at the fixture you activate the system. The demand system speeds the water from the water heater to the fixture at high velocity and shuts off when the hot water reaches the pump.

The cold hot water in the hot water pipes left over from the last use gets sent to the water heater inlet through the cold water pipes. Instant hot water when you turn on the hot water faucet, and no water was wastefully run down the drain.

Traditional hot water recirculation systems with their low powered pumps won’t produce enough water flow in the pipes to turn on a tankless heater. Most tankless water heaters won’t work with traditional circulating systems and can void the warranty of the tankless heaters.

Hot water demand systems are different. Since demand systems are activated only when hot water is used they do not cause the tankless heater to cycle on and off over and over as is the case with traditional recirculation pumps. Demand systems do not affect the warranties for the tankless units.

Not all demand systems are created equal and there are models that don’t have enough power to turn on a tankless water heater. Be sure to find a pump that has the power to you need to send at least the ½ to ¾ gallons per minute normally required to turn on the heater. Longer pipe runs require more horsepower from the pump to produce the required flow, so take that into account as well.

Add a hot water demand system to your water heater and you will conserve energy, water, and money. At the same time you are turning your plumbing system green, and you will be reducing your carbon footprint. You will feel good every time you use hot water.

Finally, water conservation without inconvenience!

Combine Tankless and Demand

Water Conservation - No Waste Reverse Osmosis Water Purification System

What is a zero waste reverse osmosis system?

Reverse osmosis systems squeeze water through a membrane that lets water through but the contaminants can’t pass through the membrane. The contaminants that are filtered out need to be flushed away from the membrane for the system to work properly. Reverse Osmosis (RO) systems typically flush down the drain 3 to 15 gallons of contaminated water for each gallon of clean water they produce.

From a water conservation point of view this is very inefficient. Watts has come up with a new RO system that recycles the contaminated waste water, eliminating the need to flush contaminated water down the drain.

Watts Premier "Zero Waste" ZRO-4 Reverse Osmosis System

The Watts patented ZRO-4 Reverse Osmosis System is the first system that does not waste water any water. The new Watts RO system simply pumps the contaminated water into your water heater.

The presumption is that it’s ok for the contaminated water is ok to bath in and wash your hands, dishes, and clothes in.

A small pump is connected in series with the membrane unit and they are in turn connected to the cold and hot water supply pipes. When the RO unit is operating the contaminated water from the input side of the membrane is slowly pumped into the water heater through the hot water line.

The instructions say to locate the ZRO-4 RO system at least 25 feet from the water heater. I wish they would tell us why. What happens if it is closer to the water heater? Is it an energy related thing? Is it to keep the contaminated water in the piping, hopefully to be purged when somebody draws hot water and thus not end up stored in a hot tank? I would really like to know.

Does it work with tankless water heaters?

I don’t know. I could not find any information about operation with tankless water heaters, but I presume it would still work. I see no physical reason why there would be a difference. But then there is that 25 foot distance from the heater thing. Does that still apply? Perhaps with tankless hot water you don’t need the 25 foot distance.




Will it work with a Hot Water Recirculation System?

Hot water circulating, often called recirculating systems and or recirc pumps come in several varieties these days. Some are simply hot water circulating systems with dedicated return lines for the hot water circulating loop, and some systems use the cold water return lines for the loop return.

If your hot water system has a recirculation system with a dedicated hot water return line then there should be no problems. However, if you have a system that uses the cold water line as the return then there will be some problems.

The pump for the circulating or demand system causes water to flow through the RO unit as though it were running whether or not it is running at the time, which can slow down the delivery of hot water from a demand hot water system, and can potentially end up putting contaminated cooled off hot water in the cold water lines.

The warm water circulating systems will also end up allowing contaminated water into the cold water piping.

A solenoid valve is incorporated into the retro-fit version of the zero waste system in series with the pump. The valve may prevent the circulating systems from pushing water through the RO system and thus solve the problem but I have not tested it so it’s just a maybe at this point.

What are the contaminants that the Watts ZRO-4 removes?

The Watts ZRO-4 reverse osmosis system reduces Arsenic (V), Cysts, Cyrptosporidium, Giardia, Entamoeba and/or Toxoplasm, Barium, Hexavalent, Chromium, Trivalent Chromium, Copper, Lead, Fluoride, Cadmium, Radium 226/228, Selenium, TDS, and Turbidity.

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!

Saving Water and Saving Energy - Human Behavior

Saving water and saving energy in a residential home setting, is largley a behavioural problem. If you observe how people use thier water for instance, you can spot wasteful behaviors all over the place.


Yard and lawn watering behaviors that don't save water

There are the obvious wasteful behaviours, such as watering the lawn at the wrong time of day, or over watering, and even watering the sidewalks and streets. The behavior in these cases is I guess, lazyness. All are easily corrected, but require someone to take the corrective action.


Low flow fixtures VS. behavior - To save water and energy

Once of the most often used water conservation methods or device is the low flow fixture. Low flow fixtures are a double edged sword. They can provide significant savings, and in turn can inadvertently cause a lot of waste.

For example, low-flow fixtures limit the maximum flow rate available from the fixture. This translates to lower water velocities through the pipe, and thus require a longer wait for hot water. However, a common reaction for those people who have very long pipe runs, is to turn on the hot water in the shower and go do something else while the shower gets hot. When they return, they often return to find hot water running down the drain.

Depending on how long the water ends up running before the human returns to use it, the savings in water is negatively impacted, and can even end up wasting more water than if the low flow fixture had not been used to begin with.

In the previous scenario energy is also being wasted. The cost of heating water is much higher than the cost of the water being heated. Running hot water down the drain is very expensive in terms of money savings... or loss!


Save Water - Behaviors in the Bathroom

Studies have shown that 80 percent of the time a typcal hot water draw occurs at a bathroom sink, the hot water doesn't make it all the way to the fixture. Most of us are guilty of this behavior... impatience... we turn on the hot water to wash our hands and we can't wait for the hot water so we start washing, only to finish about the time the water starts to warm up.

If you don't end up using the hot water, and all you've done is filled the pipe with hot water which will then cool off, then you have essentially wasted the energy. Better to not use the hot water faucet at all.

There are a whole lot of behaviors in the bathroom that can lead to wasting water, things like letting the water run while you brush your teeth, especially warm or hot water, running water whle you shave, lingering in the shower, etc.

The laundry room and saving water and energy

The obvious answer to saving water in the laundry room is to use the smallest load setting possible while still having enough to get the clothes clean. Using cold water instead of warm or hot saves energy as well.


Save water in the kitchen

The kitchen also suffers from human behavior caused water wastage. Single handeled faucets along with human habits are a contributor to energy wastage. If you don't swing the handle all the way to the left when drawing cold water, then you are drawing some hot water as well... a waste of energy.

Running the hot water to get your dishwasher really hot water is wastefull of water, running water to rinse dishes thouroughly, even hot water, when your dish washer doesn't need pre-rinsing, etc.

Save water and be energy efficient

There is one solution to several of these water saving problems... a demand hot water system of course. In the bathroom it will save energy and water by eliminating running water down the drain while you wait for hot water to arrive as discussed earlier.

In the kitchen it can eleminate the wasted water that you run to get hot for your dishwasher etc.

When you really do need hot water you get it more quickly and without wasting any water which saves you additional energy. It's the perfect companion for low flow fixtures!

Tankless Water Heaters Need More Love!

Tankless water heaters are all the rage now. Green is in and tankless heaters are considered greener than storage water heaters. They don't have standby losses and so are typically more energy efficient than tank type units.

Tankless Water Heater Savings

The dollar amount of tankless water heater savings is realatively small, and makes the payback iffy over the lifetime of the heater. Tax rebates are substantial though, and with the rebates many more home owners can expect to save enough money to more than pay for the unit. That is if there are no breakdowns.

Tankless units are more complex than storage heaters, and thus are more likely to breakdown and more expensive to repair. A service call or two can wipe out any savings realized by reduced standby losses.

Water Conservation and Saving Water

Tankless water heaters are not water conservation friendly. It takes them up to 20 seconds longer to deliver hot water since they must first heat the water and then deliver it to the fixture. A study done by the Australian government found that tankless water heaters typically take 10 to 20 seconds longer to deliver hot water than a storage type heater.

While you purge the cooled off hot water from the hot water pipes, you are running water down the drain. The longer the wait, the more water gets run down the drain.

Since tankless units require a minimum flow rate the keep the heater turned on of typically 1/2 gallon per minute to 3/4 gallons per minute, you will have to run the hot water at a higher flow than you might normally run it, and mix it with additonal cold water to get the temperature where you want it. A trickle of warm water will no longer be an option.

So for those people who for one reason or another run a small stream of warm water will have to make do with a much larger stream of warm water, again, wasting water.

Tankless water heaters are marketed with slogans like "endless hot water". Does this sound like a water conservation product? You don't buy a tankless water heater for saving water.

Tankless Water Heaters Need More Love... or At Least More Attention

Because tankless heaters are limited in the gallons per minute that they can heat to a specified temperature, one must consider the inlet temperature when deciding on a size. Too small, and the heater will not be able to meat your peak load demands and the temperature at the fixture will decrease as the flow rate is turned up at the faucet.

Too large of a model, and it will be difficult to adjust the temperature without the heater shutting off. And if you live where the water temperature varies widely from summer to winter, then you may have to change the outlet temperature setting on the heater as the seasons change.

Most gas tankless water heaters need to be plugged into a 110v outlet to power the electronics need to control the unit. Some units use the flowing water to spin a tiny generator powering the controls. Bosch water heaters have such a feature. So most units won't be able to supply hot water during a power outage.

I have seen a lot of chatter in forums about the need to clean the Bosch units frequently due to that tiny generator...

If you live where temperatures go below freezing you will have a new worry... damaging the heat exchanger. With a storage water heater freezing isn't going to happen. With a tankless unit you have to protect it from freezing as freezing will destroy the heat exchanger.

Some units come with a little built in heater for freeze protection... so much for eliminating standby losses...

Recirc Pumps and Hot Water Demand Systems

Most tankless water heaters will not work with a traditional hot water recirc pump. Read the warranty. Even so, most circulating pumps won't pump enough water through the heater to turn it on anyway.

Hot water demand systems are on the other hand ideal for tankless applications. They don't circulate the hot water, they get your hot water to the fixture without running water down the drain, and they can often get your hot water to the fixture more quickly.

However, most hot water demand systems still suffer from the "tiny motor" syndrome. Hot water circulating pumps typically range in horsepower from about 1/120 to 1/8 horsepower with around 1/40 kind of typical. Our competitors such as Act Metlund which makes several models, the S-50T, the S-70T, and the S-02T. The S-50T is not recommended for tankless systems, and the S-70T for systems with less than 100 feet of pipe. Compare the CP6000 with the Metlund D'mand System. Metlund VS Chilipepper

Our pump, the Chilipepper CP6000 with it's big 1/3 horsepower motor will run any tankless water heater on the market.

All brands including Rinnai, Takagi, Noritz, and Bosch work better when you combine them with a hot water demand system. See a comparison of the various models from the above brands. Compare Tankless Water Heaters

Point of Use Water Heaters

The most water and energy efficient plumbing layout is to have the heater a close as possible to the end use fixture. This can virually eliminate the wasted water, and eleminates the need for a pump. Often it is an ideal application for a small electric tankless water heater.

Tankless water heaters can provide you with "endless hot water" and can save you money, but there are other considerations, so choose carefully...

Bill the Hot Water Guy