I really got sold on the idea of a switch-activated hot water loop, and it got me thinking about hot water system efficiency in general. I'll be installing an indirect hot water heater, fired off a boiler, and hopefully connected to hot water solar panels sometime down the road.
But it also got me thinking about the inefficiency of flushing a gallon or two of cold or lukewarm water back into the water heater tank, just for a simple hand washing at a bathroom lav.
So I'm laying out my water system with a planned separate on-demand heater underneath an unstairs lav. It'll serve just the lavs in the master bath, kid's bath, in-law bath, and a prep sink in the kitchen. Meanwhile, the hot water loop will service the showers, dishwasher, clothes washer, and main kitchen sink. There's a half-bath that's close to the kid's bath, but is also sits directly over the water heater, so I'm undecided as to which system to connect this to.
The longest on-demand runs are no longer than 15-20 feet through 3/8" PEX to the lavs, and 1/2" to the prep sink, so while there will still be a short wait time at the faucet, I won't be cycling the main water heater.
Anybody care to poke any holes in this arrangement? The worst case scenario I can come up with is everyone running their sinks at the same time, but I just don't see that as likely or extremely inconvenient.
But it also got me thinking about the inefficiency of flushing a gallon or two of cold or lukewarm water back into the water heater tank, just for a simple hand washing at a bathroom lav.
So I'm laying out my water system with a planned separate on-demand heater underneath an unstairs lav. It'll serve just the lavs in the master bath, kid's bath, in-law bath, and a prep sink in the kitchen. Meanwhile, the hot water loop will service the showers, dishwasher, clothes washer, and main kitchen sink. There's a half-bath that's close to the kid's bath, but is also sits directly over the water heater, so I'm undecided as to which system to connect this to.
The longest on-demand runs are no longer than 15-20 feet through 3/8" PEX to the lavs, and 1/2" to the prep sink, so while there will still be a short wait time at the faucet, I won't be cycling the main water heater.
Anybody care to poke any holes in this arrangement? The worst case scenario I can come up with is everyone running their sinks at the same time, but I just don't see that as likely or extremely inconvenient.