Obviously solar water heaters do save energy. Or at least they don’t use energy that you have to pay for. It’s free from the sun. But what about saving water? Saving water is becoming more and more important and will continue to become even more important in the future.
We already have to desalinate sea water in many parts of the world and even in the U.S. to provide the ever increasing amount of water required for our growing populations. Wells are going dry, glaciers are disappearing and clean potable water is becoming ever scarcer.
Most homes waste a lot of hot water. Whenever you run water down the tap waiting for your hot water to arrive at the fixture you are wasting water. Not only that, but your wasting energy and increasing your carbon foot print at the same time by virtue of running water into the sewer system which then has to treat it. Treating sewage consumes energy and contributes to greenhouse gas releases.
Long hot water pipes are the bad guy here. If the water heater was right next to the fixture there would be little if any wasted water. This is difficult with a solar water heater. The longer the pipes the worse the problem.
There is a simple solution to the problem… a hot water demand system. A hot water demand system is a pumping system that pumps the hot water out of your water heater and to your fixtures whenever you demand hot water. It does this without running water down the drain. Your hot water arrives more quickly saving you time, and nothing gets run down the drain saving you a lot of water and reducing your carbon footprint.
Hot water demand systems are inexpensive and do not require any additional plumbing. A small pump install under your fixture at the furthest fixture from the water heater. Some models can be installed using just supply hoses so you don’t even have to turn of the water to your house, just turn off the supply valves under the sink to do the installation. You do need an electrical outlet installed if there isn’t already one there.
The water savings from a home equipped with a hot water demand system ranges from about 10,000 gallons per year to as much as 16,000 gallons per year for a family of four. Last time I checked there were about 55 million single family homes in the US. So if we just look at single family homes and not at things like condos and apartments, and we assume a savings of 10,000 gallons per year, it would total a staggering Five hundred and fifty billion (550,000,000,000) gallons of water per year.
Demand systems after all, don’t have to be restricted to solar water heaters, they work with any kind of water heater. The demand systems are directed at the hot water distribution piping, and the kind of water heater being used doesn’t make any difference.
Whether you have a solar water heater, tankless water heater, electric water heater or any other kind a hot water demand system will save you time water and money. Turn your solar hot water heater green, and reduce your carbon footprint.
Every time you use your hot water you will feel good about not wasting all the water!
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