Tankless Water Heater

[brewery33]

I just installed a tankless water heater in my home. The installation adheres to all local codes and was installed a professional. My concern is that the energy savings is rather misleading. I can comprehend the savings I will realize in gas consumption, but due to the operation of the unit the water utilization has increased.

For instance, I turn the tap on in my bathroom (which is the furthest valve from the heater) and my wait for hot water has increased. This is due to not only voiding the cold water that is in the hot water line, as well as the water that is in the heating coil of the unit, not to mention the water that will pass through the heater in the process of heating water. I have not taken measurements, but I plan to.

I am workshopping some ideas for a solution, such as a circulation system, but I have not settled on a direction. I was interested to see what this community thought of my quandary.

[maxkone]

I am very curious what you end up finding out.

I had liked the idea of tankless water systems, but I've been reluctant to buy one as I couldn't get past the ineffeciency you described. Yes, you'll use less gas, but you'll use more water to get it up to temperature. That always bothered me. Maybe there's a better way out there.

[brewery33]

So I am probably going to install the Grundfos Comfort system. It is a circulation system that utilizes the cold water line as the return line. It employs a thermostatic bypass valve at the furthest valve in the system. The pump runs on a timer.

This is plan A, but me being tinker crazy, it probably won't be the end. I will probably end up using a small electric heater to preheat 2 gallons so that it will give enough volume to ensure heater is up to temp, hence no cold water shot.

Life is a journey, not a destination. If you find the destination, chances are you are lost. :D

[Luke Scott]

I'm gonna get one of these stat. As soon as I can afford it!


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