Noob Homeowner Thread - Hot Water Circulation

[Alienwho]

Just bought a house. I noticed downstairs we have one of those domestic hot water circulation units. It works great and everything but it seems to me this thing would likely use a ton of energy. It's running the motor non stop apparently and it makes me think the water would cool as it runs through the pipes so by the time it gets back to the water heater it would have to be reheated again, thereby using more gas. Am I way off base here? Water is much cheaper to waste a bit waiting for the water to warm up than gas.

Bonus question. I want to hook up an OTA antenna in the attic and route it to the main panel in the basement that splits off to the coax wall inputs throughout the house. Is this even possible, or is the signal degradation going to kill this? I rented a basement apartment from a house that's only a couple miles away and I think they must have been setup like this because we just got OTA channels but plugged into the coax input on the wall and it was all crystal clear. Any recommendations on an antenna to buy or is it better to build one?

 

[Apple Of Sodom]

Just bought a house. I noticed downstairs we have one of those domestic hot water circulation units. It works great and everything but it seems to me this thing would likely use a ton of energy. It's running the motor non stop apparently and it makes me think the water would cool as it runs through the pipes so by the time it gets back to the water heater it would have to be reheated again, thereby using more gas. Am I way off base here? Water is much cheaper to waste a bit waiting for the water to warm up than gas.

Bonus question. I want to hook up an OTA antenna in the attic and route it to the main panel in the basement that splits off to the coax wall inputs throughout the house. Is this even possible, or is the signal degradation going to kill this? I rented a basement apartment from a house that's only a couple miles away and I think they must have been setup like this because we just got OTA channels but plugged into the coax input on the wall and it was all crystal clear. Any recommendations on an antenna to buy or is it better to build one?

I just built a house within the last 5 years I and do not have a domestic hot water circulating pump... I just let the water run for a minute before I hop in the shower or whatever. I suppose the convenience of instant hot water would be nice, but probably not for the price of running the pump and heat loss from circulation of water.

 

[bignateyk]

I just built a house within the last 5 years I and do not have a domestic hot water circulating pump... I just let the water run for a minute before I hop in the shower or whatever. I suppose the convenience of instant hot water would be nice, but probably not for the price of running the pump and heat loss from circulation of water.

I didn't even know that such a system existed. Seems like a terrible idea to me. There's a reason why they use water circulation for baseboard heating systems...

 

[DrPizza]

For your first question, yes, it wastes a lot of energy. It's purely for convenience.

edit: and if the pipes aren't insulated, then it wastes a shit ton of energy.

 

[DesiPower]

I didn't even know that such a system existed. Seems like a terrible idea to me. There's a reason why they use water circulation for baseboard heating systems...

it does and people brag about it... I knew a couple of guys from work at the last place I worked at, wealthy but low IQ guys, kind of guys who though I was god coz I calculated the height and width of a 46" TV using Excel... thay had it at their home.

 

[AUMM]

typically they should be setup to run either on timer or motion sensor (setup near the entry of bathroom or something.) these can be retrofitted fairly easily....

 

[DesiPower]

typically they should be setup to run either on timer or motion sensor (setup near the entry of bathroom or something.) these can be retrofitted fairly easily....

wouldn't that just defeat the purpose...

 

[Alienwho]

wouldn't that just defeat the purpose...

Seems like a good idea if I can set it to run from 6-10pm and 7-9am which is the only time anybody is at the house. Right now it's just running full steam ahead all day every day.

 

[Apple Of Sodom]

wouldn't that just defeat the purpose...

ummm...no. You walk into the bathroom and it starts circulating the water in anticipation of water being used. It is better than circulating it 24/7 and still gives you the convenience of instant hot water.

 

[highland145]

Is the heater a long way away? Hard to justify the $$, I would think.

I do bitch about mine. Whoever plumbed it before we bought ran the pvc in a "C" shape with the first leg ~35' and the other 2 ~15' to the kitchen. Been too lazy to fix it.

 

[skyking]

As stated before, the proper setup has a timer so it only circulates water early in the morning, and possibly around 5 PM. The rest of the time it is off.