I know this topic has been beaten to death - but I want to present a
fresh problem and get all of your advice to solve it.
I have a 3000 square foot one-floor house about 20 years old that I just
bought. The kitchen is on one end and the bathrooms and laundry are on
the other end. Currently there are two 50 gallon electric water heaters
- one on each end of the home. The house also has city gas - but it only
serves the pool heater and hot tub heater.
Here is the funny part - the water heater right next to the bathrooms
- does not service the bathrooms - only the clothes washer. The water
heater near the kitchen serves the kitchen and the two bathrooms sixty
feet away. Of course the pipes are in the concrete slab.
Whenever you take a shower - it takes the hot water from the kitchen
water heater forever to get to the showers wasting time - water - and
energy.
I have 4 options -
1. Replace the electric water heaters with gas ones - the city gives you
a $450 credit for each electric water heater you swap out.
2. Buy two on-demand electric water heaters and put one in a bathroom
and one in the kitchen.
3. I can run copper pipes overhead and try to get hot water from the
laundry to the bathrooms.
4. Just leave it the way it is - both water heaters work fine - but it
take about three minutes for the shower to get hot.
Harry