On Tue, 27 Dec 2016 15:44:45 -0800, T wrote:

Hi All,

A customer sent me this:

Needed: A unit that would allow remote manual operation of a
standard household Hot Water Recirculating Pump from up to
six locations within the house; i.e., kitchen, bathrooms,
utility room, etc., anywhere hot water is needed, eliminating
the need to run the hot water tap until the hot water arrives.
This is the alternative to a timed or constant running Hot
Water Recirculating Pump.

Said he is going broke having to keep the hot water running all
the time.

Any of you guys have an experience with this kind of thing?


If the goal is to save energy and waste as little water as possible
while at the same time having warm - hot water available quickly, then
I would ensure the hot water pipes are as well insulated as possible
and put a timer on the pump and try running it for 5 minutes every 30
- 60 minutes. That will keep warm water in the pipes but not run the
pump continuously and save a tremendous amount of energy.

The wasteful aspect of the above solution is you will be dumping the
cool water from the pipes back into the hot water heater, reducing the
temperature causing it to fire up.

This should give your customer a good ROI with a reasonable compromise
in function and not represent a huge project.

If you want to give him exactly what he asked for there exist remote
control AC outlets, install one for the pump and buy multiple remotes.
I don't think this is a great solution as you will either need to put
a run timer on the pump or the customer will need to remember to shut
off the pump when he is finished, this would be a problem when washing
dishes or clothes. It would also mean he will have to wait for the
water to circulate and or waste the water that has been sitting in the
pipes.