tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-453315942766344869.post8630547098647793023..comments2023-09-20T11:05:55.935-04:00Comments on My Future Past: Residential energy efficiency: prologueUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-453315942766344869.post-86411650312821023382009-03-20T09:25:00.000-04:002009-03-20T09:25:00.000-04:00There's a water heater add-on that saves water and...There's a water heater add-on that saves water and a little energy when sending hot water to a remotely placed location. It circulates the water from the heater up the hot water pipe and back down the cold water pipe into the water heater inlet until the water temp at the faucet reaches a desired temp. No water comes out of the faucet until it's warm. This avoids dumping water down the drain just to clear the cooled water out of the hot water pipe. The control at the faucet is a passive valve with a temperature sensitive metal element. A control unit at the water heater senses the temp of the water coming back and manages the valves directing the water from the heater. This primarily saves water but a certain amount of energy from 'warmish' water going down the drain.RossinDetroithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16240102870398060564noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-453315942766344869.post-52887510249795750492009-03-19T17:05:00.000-04:002009-03-19T17:05:00.000-04:00Funny you should ask:Ross just picked up a bit of ...Funny you should ask:<BR/><BR/>Ross just picked up a bit of firewood the other day, because now that the temps are rising a bit, we can have a fire without worrying about all the heat of the main floor being sucked up the chimney!<BR/><BR/>I was raised in a slab ranch, so I may never get used to having to wait several minutes for warm water to make its way from the basement to the second floor. My former boss had on-demand water heaters in The Cottage, in Worthing - I think it's a splendid idea, but we have to consider the cost of converting. Same problem as with upgrading the furnace or air conditioner: how long till you can recoup the costs in energy savings? The windows were worth doing immediately, but that was a quality-of-life issue as well (MUCH QUIETER).Trilln451https://www.blogger.com/profile/09290958979299520841noreply@blogger.com