Are you tired of waiting for the water to get hot in your shower, bathroom sink, or kitchen? Letting the water run while waiting for it to warm up is a huge waste of time, money and water. You may have considered installing a tankless water heater. These have many advantages over traditional storage type water heaters including instant hot water for some types of installations, but there are disadvantages to tankless water heaters, not the least of which are the conversion costs.
There is another, less expensive option for getting instant hot water. A hot water recirculation system circulates hot water through the pipes so that when you turn on the faucet or shower, the hot water is immediately available. There are three different types of hot water circulation systems.
The first type uses a pump to continuously circulate hot water through the pipes. This is the simplest system, but also the most expensive to operate since the water circulation pump runs continuously.
The second type of hot water circulation system is similar to the first, but uses a timer to shut off the pump when demand for hot water is small such as at night and on weekdays when your family is away from home at work or school. These systems use less energy because they do not run continuously.
The most cost efficient type of water circulations system is a demand type system. In these systems, the circulation pump only runs when a button at the sink or shower is pushed. After pushing the button to activate the system, the user waits a few seconds before turning on the hot water. The pump shuts off automatically after the hot water reaches the tap. These systems are a little less convenient than the other two types of water recirculation systems, but they are much more efficient to operate and they reduce water consumption.
