Fogarty & Fogarty Plumbing Co. installed a hot water re-circulating pump in our home and we no longer wait several minutes for hot water. The re-circulating pump is installed at the water heater and a bypass valve is installed at the furthest fixture from the water heater. In our case, this was our children’s bathroom sink. The bypass valve in conjunction with the re-circ. pump gently pushes hot water throughout the plumbing system. No return line is needed since the bypass valve connects the hot and cold under the children’s sink. No water is wasted while circulating the hot water since the cold line eventually goes back to the water heater.
Our average water usage for the nine months prior to installation was 216 gallons per day. Our average water usage for the next nine months after installing the pump was 154 per day. We average a savings of 62 gallons everyday. That may not sound like much, but multiply that by 365 days and we will have saved 22,630 gallons in a years time. The manufacturer suggests savings up to 16,000 gallons of water per year, per household. Based on that figure, our kids were obviously big water wasters!
We researched our options and confidently chose a Grunfos Comfort System. What we liked about this system was that it retrofits to existing plumbing, a return line was not required, it uses less energy than a 25 watt light bulb, and has a built-in timer. Since hot water is not needed throughout the entire day, we utilize the timer option. Our hot water circulates from 5:oo a.m. – 8:00 a.m. and from 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. This is when we take our showers, run the dishwasher, and do laundry.
The entire system including installation was less than $500.00. We enjoy the water savings because it is the right thing to do, we like that we are not paying for water we are not using, and most of all – I love the fact that the H on my faucets reflect reality.
For some, there is a slight downfall to the system. Warmer water can work it’s way into the cold line. However, for us that is not a problem since warm water cools down quickly in the pipes. In Myrtle Beach, SC we never get truly cold water because our water lines are not that deep. For cold water we turn to another modern convenience, our automatic ice maker and filtered water in the door of our refrigerator. Life is good. :o)
