Re-Circulation Systems

Have you ever wondered why your hot water faucet gives you cold water when you first turn it on? Depending on the size of your home, you may wait a few seconds or minutes for the water to warm up. The wait for hot water is inconvenient and also wastes water.

You don't get hot water right away when you turn on the sink because the water needs to travel to you through your plumbing. When the faucet is on, hot water is drawn to the sink through your plumbing. Turning it off stops the water, but doesn't return it to the water heater. It stays in the pipes and gets cold. The next time you need hot water, the cold water in the pipes has to be pushed out by fresh hot water from the water heater. The more piping between the water heater and the faucet, the more cold water there is and the longer it takes.

However, when you get a hot water recirculating pump installed on your water heater, this unused hot water is pushed back to the water heater and you get hot water on demand.