A Water Heater and a Demand Pump - Instant Hot Water for Less Than $200

If you want instant hot water from your water heater when you turn on the faucet, then you want a demand pump. A hot water demand pump system is not the same as a recirculating or recirculation pumping system.

Recirc Pumps

Recirculation pumps, often referred to as “recirc pumps”, are for circulating a small flow of water through the piping system continuously to provide you with instant hot water when you turn on the spigot. Although you get instant hot water when you turn on the faucet, the system wastes a tremendous amount of energy since the hot water piping acts like a giant radiator. The water heater has to work much harder to replace all the lost heat and that costs you money. It also produces more green house gasses.

Demand Pumps

Demand pumps only pump hot water through the piping to your fixture when you “demand” it by pressing the pump’s start button. You won’t use any more energy than normal since you are only filling the pipe with hot water, just like you would if you turned on the tap and ran the water down the drain while you waited.

The pump typically runs for less than a minute, and thus uses very little energy of its own. The pump usually uses less than $2.00 per year in electricity.

Tankless Water Heaters

Although normal recirc pumps and recirculation systems will not work with tankless water heaters, demand pumps will, if they have enough power to turn on the heater. The Chilipepper pump has enough power to turn on any tankless water heater on the market. Others such as the Metlund D’mand System pumps have several models with different amounts of power, and some models will turn on some heaters. Be sure to check before you buy!

Tankless hot water heaters require more time to get the hot water to your fixtures since they have to heat the water first. Typically 10 to 20 seconds longer. That means you run more water down the drain waiting. With tankless hot water demand pumps are even more beneficial than with storage type water heaters.

A Green Plumbing Product

By installing a hot water demand system you not only get the convenience of fast hot water, you reduce your carbon footprint. It takes energy to pump and treat both the potable water in your residential plumbing, and the resulting sewage water from running it down the drain. By using less energy for pumping and treating the water, you release less pollution and green house gas into the atmosphere.
The Chilipepper hot water demand pump costs well under $200.00, and will pay for itself, often in a year or so.