Work On Your Crib: Hot Water on Demand
The US is one of the few countries that still typically heats hot water all the time, whether we need it or not. You don't leave your car running all night so that you can use it in the morning, do you? It makes much more sense to heat water only when you need it for as long as you need it. So obviously you save energy but added benefits include: the water never changes temperature and you never run out. I was an early adopter of tankless hot water technology and it has only gotten better and more mature. Endless hot water
posted by Reality Man at 9:41 PM
2 Comments:
Except that in the US, most houses are built both spaciously and inefficiently, rendering the well meaning on-demand hot water tanks underpowered to keep up with American demand. In Europe, where they are immensely popular and usefull, the houses/flats are build much more efficiently (from a design perspective, not materials) and where the tolerance for waste is much less. If you have a small house, or 1 bathroom loft, they would be great - otherwise, they can't keep up...
Long plumbing runs, as will be found in "spacious" homes, are a problem for all types of water heaters; i.e., you wait for hot water, waste water as you wait, and fill the long run with hot water that may or may not be used. Recirculating systems save water but waste energy. A solution for sprawling American homes may be using multiple tankless heaters in zones. But as far as capacity goes, there's nothing anemic about 7.4GPM at a 45 degree rise.
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