How can I get hotwater in my tap as soon as I turn it on? the cold water in the line comes first & is wasted.?

Question

We have a hotwater system in the house. During cold season, while washing my face, brushing my teeth or shaving, I wait for hotwater to come, I know this is a waste of good water, but if hotwater came upon turning my tap, I would not need to waste any water. I do feel very guilty about it but have not been able to think of a solution. Can anybody help me?

Answer 1

I just installed a re circulating system in a customers home. It is timer controlled which actually is cheaper. It has an option to have continuous on or timer control. This system was $310 from a plumbing supply store. Just tap into the existing water line on top of the water heater, Then there is a device that mounts under the vanity, And connects to both hot and cold supply lines. It is set to only work at certain times of the day mornings and evenings between 6 and 10 but can be set for any times. I got this system from "Ferguson" plumbing supply. But any plumbing supply should be able to get it for you.

Answer 2

A recirculation system is missing the askers point. He is concerned with the wastefulness of the current system. The heat/energy loss of a recirculation system would far outweigh the current waste of water. A recirculation system is a luxury item in the average size home. The only way to reduce water waste in this situation is to reduce the distance of pipe from the “point of use” i.e. the sink, and the “point of heat transfer” i.e. the water heater. On demand, or tank type water heater is irrelevant, the only relevant factor in reducing water waste is reducing the length of the pipe.

So, your only real way of reducing this is to get the sink and water heater as close together as possible.

Answer 3

There are recirculating systems and they are a little more efficient because its cheaper to keep water hot than heat cold water. There are also point-of-use heaters for sinks for instant hot water.
However, unless there is a drought, I would think you're wasting more energy by constantly heating or reheating water than by the run off of cold water first.
Pipe insulation on hot lines where you can reach them would help a little, especially in winter.

Answer 4

There is what they call a water re-circulator available. some home supply stores have them, plumbers can install them correctly. You will have to set the time for it to come on and off. It circulates water from your water heater to you faucet so when you turn the water on, the water is already there for you with no waste or waiting for the hot water to get there. Also try and use the tube insulation for the whole system.

Answer 5

The only way to do this is to haver a hot water recirculating system installed this is a pipe and pump that runs to the farthest fixture from your water heater that constantly recirculates the water in the hot line back to the inlet of the heater which keeps it from cooling off in the line when not in use

Answer 6

You can get a hot water circulating system that keeps the water moving so you get hot water quickly.
Thats is expensive, (requires extra pipe and a pump that runs often), and wastes more in energy than you will save in water.
If it REALLY bothers you, there are "Instant Hot water heaters that install under your sink that provide hot water quickly. Easier and cheaper to install, (short wire & pipe runs), but still and energy drain.
I live with waiting for the water, (brush my teeth with the cool before shaving).

Answer 7

I don't like the circulator. It wastes more energy. The local heat system works but is less efficient at heating particularly compared to gas water heating. The only system that works somewhat is insulating the pipes very well. That works better when there is a frequent use of hot water.

Answer 8

Its called an -instant hot- its a little water heater that goes under the sink and keeps hot water on tap so to speak.

Answer 9

there are hot water recyclers sold, but cant see the since in them, they run hot water thru the lines continuouslyand seems to me to waste power heating the water. I catch the cold and use it for other things, such as making coffee or I pour it in the washer and use it for laundry