When you understand how recirculating systems work, it’s pretty obvious what can go wrong from an energy standpoint. First, the pump can use a lot of energy if it’s inefficient and it runs all the time. Second, all this pipe filled with hot water can transfer a lot of heat to the house, especially if it’s not insulated. In the winter, you’re heating your house with your hot water – which usually isn’t the most efficient way to heat your house. In the summer, you’re still heating your house and your air conditioning has to work harder to remove this heat. Insulating the pipes helps, but pipe insulation isn’t very thick, so you still get this effect.

Hot water recirculating systemwithout dedicated return line

I understand that it’s a pretty compelling argument when you hear that you might hate your system later, so you’d better install a loop just in case. However, that’s not entirely true. There ARE systems that will function much like a recirculating loop that can be installed later in an existing home (I’ve written about them here). So if you’ve looked at the distance to your fixtures and think you’ll likely be OK with the wait, you won’t be out of options if you change your mind. So absolutely, I want you to practice water conservation. I’m also totally cool with the idea that you might also get fast hot water. Just don’t do it at the expense of energy conservation. You can have both.

Hot water recirculating systemwith dedicated return line

Use rainwater management as a ‘best management practice’ By Shawn Hatley on 03/16/2006 A national campaign promotes rainwater management as a best management practice, or environmental…

Hot water recirculating loops are having a moment. They’re popular with plumbers because they reduce callbacks homeowners who don’t want to run their taps and wait for hot water. They’re also quite inexpensive to install – if you install them in a way that will work really inefficiently. Recirculating loops ARE a water-saving feature. But if you’re not careful, they can waste a LOT of energy. And homeowners will be paying for these loops every month on their utility bills as long as they own the home.

Hot water recirculatingpump

Why Pay Thrice? By Ken Huck on 03/16/2006 Owners of inefficient homes must pay for building, higher utility bills, and the cost of a degraded environment.…

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Recirculating hot water systemdiagram

So, recirculating loops come with a potentially big energy penalty. The first question you should ask is, “do I really need one”? If the house is smaller and the water heater can be centrally located, you don’t. Sometimes in a bigger house, you can have two water heaters, both of which are relatively close to their fixtures. You can get hot water to fixtures more quickly using a “manifold” plumbing system. Manifold systems have a “home run” of pipe to each hot water fixture. These home runs can be smaller and more direct, so it doesn’t take as long to flush the cool water out of the pipe. I also encourage clients to think about whether they need fast hot water at *every* fixture. You may be happy with a water heater that’s located close to your master bathroom, but be willing to wait at an infrequently used guest bathroom or a laundry room.

If someone is selling you on the water-saving benefits of a recirculation system, and they’re NOT also talking to you about low-flow showerheads and toilets, it’s worth questioning whether they’re really motivated by water conservation. The energy penalty isn’t just speculation on my part. Before the HERS rating system started penalizing homes for poorly done recirculation systems, we did several audits a year from people who had really high bills because of these systems.

If you already own a hydropress and currently not regulating your water. You really should! Australian water pressure is higher than a lot of other countries. In some places up to 115psi! Most Hydropresses can't expel that fast flow and higher pressure water at the full ball. This could put you in risk of your hydropress failing or cause serious injury.

Hot water Recirculatingvalve

Recirculating hot water systemretrofit

KegLand Inline Water Regulator for 1/2" Hydropress InletThis Kit Includes:1 x monotight - 8mm x 1/2" Male Thread1 x monotight - 8mm (5/16”) x 1/2” Female Thread1 x 1/2" Rounded Silicone O-Ring1 x duotight Inline Regulator for Water 0-60psi1 x Garden Hose Male x 1/2" Female Thread1 x 12m Roll of 5mm x 8mm EVABarrier HoseClick links above to see which items may be out of stock if this kit is unavailable.If you already own a hydropress and currently not regulating your water. You really should! Australian water pressure is higher than a lot of other countries. In some places up to 115psi! Most Hydropresses can't expel that fast flow and higher pressure water at the full ball. This could put you in risk of your hydropress failing or cause serious injury.

Another area of confusion out there locally is the “future loop”. Don’t allow your plumber to install a “future loop” – there’s no such thing. Either your plumbing is installed in a loop and you should take the above steps to do it right, or it isn’t. The idea behind the “future loop” is that they’re going to install the piping in a loop and only add a pump if you complain about how long it takes to get hot water. There are several problems with this:

What’s a hot water recirculating loop and how is it different from a standard system? A typical hot water system has piping that comes from the water heater in a “tree” configuration, with a main trunk and smaller branches that go to each fixture. When you turn on the hot water tap, you have to wait for the cool water to flush out of the piping before you get hot water. A recirculating system is piped differently using a loop that travels throughout the house and gets close to all of the fixtures that use hot water. There are very short branch pipes that connect this loop to each fixture. A pump is used to circulate hot water through the loop, so that hot water arrives at the fixture very quickly.

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The decision to do recirculation is very individual. This will be surprising to some of my clients, but I do sometimes recommend recirculating systems. If I look at all of above strategies and feel that the plumbing fixtures in a home are just too far apart and can’t reasonably be served by any of these strategies, it’s worth considering recirculation. But you have to commit to doing it right, which isn’t going to be free.

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