Apr 30 2008 7:58AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |
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As homes become more and more efficient, we need to look for new frontiers in energy and resource conservation. One of the next ones on the horizon is water heating. We have many great options for heating water efficiently including tankless heaters, super high efficiency tank units, geothermal, and solar. They all have their pros and cons, depending on the particular project. 

One thing that they all have in common is that none of them are effective when connected to a poorly designed hot water distribution system. I have heard stories of homeowners replacing their old tank water heater with a new tankless unit, only to be upset that the hot water didn’t arrive at their faucet instantly, and incorrectly blaming it on the new heater. The tankless heater was working perfectly, heating water only when needed, but the problem arises when that nice hot water needs to travel seventy or eighty feet to the fixtures, wasting water which runs down the drain waiting for the hot water to arrive, and wasting any energy used to heat water that remains in the pipes and cools off. 

We need to reconsider how we move hot water around the house using structured plumbing systems, on demand hot water pumps, and just plain common sense when designing our homes. We put too little thought into our house design, sticking bathrooms all over the place when placing them in close proximity to a water heater would save energy and water with little or no effort.