If you live in a small apartment, then fast hot water probably isn’t much of a concern for you. You most likely get your hot water fast since it is a short distance from the water heater to the fixture, or your apartment has a hot water circulating system with a single large common water heater. But if you live in a rambling ranch home with the water heater on one end of the house, and the master bath on the other end, then you know you waste a whole lot of water waiting for the hot water to reach your fixture.

You can get faster hot water and get it without running any water down the drain with a hot water demand system. A hot water demand system is an inexpensive easy-to-install pump that mounts under your sink, and delivers your hot water to you fast, without running any water down the drain. Studies have indicated that a typical family of four can save up to 15,000 gallons of water per year with a demand type hot water pump.

When you want hot water, you press a button and the pump sends the hot water from your water heater to your fixture at high speed. When hot water reaches the fixture, the pump shuts off. When the pump shuts off you turn on the tap and you have instant hot water. The cooled off hot water in the hot water piping gets pumped through the cold water line back to the water heater inlet. No hot water ends up in the cold water line.

You get your hot water faster, and you don’t run any water down the drain. If you are one of those people who turn on the hot water, and then do something else while you wait for the hot water, and you come back to find that there is hot water running down the drain, then you can save a ton of energy too. The energy to heat water is much more expensive than the water itself.

I have a hot water demand system in my home, and in the morning when the alarm goes off, I reach over, shut off the alarm, and hit the remote button that activates my demand pump. When I get to the shower the hot water is waiting for me. I no longer have to stand there shivering in the cold with my hand in the water for about a minute and a half. Often one pump can service more than one sink. In my home the pump is installed in the upstairs master bath, but it gets the heated water to the kitchen sink much faster too. Without the pump I have to wait 45 seconds with the water running full blast to get the hot water, but after the demand pump runs it only takes 7 seconds.

According to dishwasher manufacturers, the number one reason for dishwashers to not get dishes clean is that the water isn’t hot enough to dissolve the soap completely. If you run your demand system pump when you start the dishwasher, you will make sure the dishwasher gets hot water for really clean dishes.

If you have a tankless water heater you are saving energy, and you have unlimited hot water, but you are wasting even more water than with a conventional type water heater. Tankless water heaters take longer to get you hot water since they have to heat it as well as just send it, like a tank type water heater. Since it takes longer, you run more water down the drain waiting. But don’t worry, there are demand systems that work with tankless water heaters, and in fact, work with any kind of water heater including solar.

Demand systems are green products, as they save a lot of water and in many cases energy too. The pumps typically cost less than $2.00 per year in electricity to operate. Saving water also reduces the amount of energy needed to pump and treat it. This lowers the amount of greenhouse gas and other pollutants being released into the atmosphere. Demand pumps are manufactured by Metlund, Taco, Chilipepper Sales and others.

Check with your local water company, as some water companies are offering rebates of up to $200.00 on demand type hot water pumps.