You know the drill: You turn on the shower and busy yourself with other morning rituals — brushing your teeth, choosing your clothes for the day, maybe even ironing a shirt — while you wait for the hot water. By some estimates, this routine wastes 12,000 gallons a year — much, much more if, say, yours is a household of five. That’s a lot of water disappearing down the drain. Fortunately, there’s a solution: A hot water recirculation pump.
What’s a Recirculation Pump?
Is a Recirculation Pump Easy to Install?
Installing a recirculation pump can be complex and it’s a job best left to a plumber. To accommodate a recirculation pump, your home may need a third line to carry the unused hot water back to the water heater. This would require a significant retrofit. Alternatively, a plumber could configure a system to send unused warm water back through the cold water pipes. This option presents one obvious drawback: when you turn on the tap for cold water, the water will come out lukewarm. You may have to wait a bit for the water to become cold — probably not a huge dilemma. After all, how often do you need cold water? Lukewarm water is fine for most applications — cooking, cleaning, etc. Your water savings far outweigh this one minor inconvenience.