Little things...
 

Do you remember the song ''Little things mean a lot'' ?
.
In my attempts to leave as small a footprint as I can upon my passage on this Earth (about 10 years left, I figure), I try to keep in mind that correcting one little thing that one does daily is as effective as doing one large thing twice in one's life (i.e. replacing a furnace).

One of the things that I do twice daily is to wash in the bathroom upstairs, using heated water of course. As I was sitting there thinking, it dawned on me that that the heated water upstairs comes from the basement, two storeys down.

To get that litre of heated water in my sink, I had of course evacuate and to waste 2 litres of cold water. And, the heated water in the sink is just the tip of the iceberg. For it to be there, there needs to be about three times that amount left to cool in the pipe between floors.

So I bought an electric kettle and use it to heat one to two litres of water ''in situ'' as they say.

My question: am I doing the smart thing ecologically ?

It's a good thing not to waste hot water..
 

I hate the waiting for hot water, more than I hate the waste.
Heating up the pipes and afterwards when the water in the pipes cooling off.

I've seen info about under sink heaters and I accidentally burned my hands
while I was spending a night in my uncles guest house.
Instant hot water can surprise you..

I've been thinking about one for our bath room.. If I could find one that
only used 1200 watts (@120vac) when water was being used,
but not hold warm water 24/7..


http://www.tanklesswaterheatersdirec...ream_small.gif

You could add a pump to recirculate the water.
3 GPM / 11.5 LPM - 12V Solar Hot Water Pump - Can be run by a 15W solar panel - Amazon.com
You'll have to add a 12V wall wart and some basic control circuits, but keep in mind that a ready made version costs about $200. The control can be as basic as a thermostat (set to open at 100F or so) and a button switch. When you want to use hot water, just hold the button until the thermostat turns off the pump.

NiHaoMike,

I believe that the hot water recirculating concept has been dealt with pretty well elsewhere on our Forum, and though it adds to convenience, it wastes a surprisingly large amount of energy.

Pantagruel,

I think that your idea is splendid. I would suggest an immersion kettle, one that has the heating coil submerged in the water, and turns itself off, should you forget.

It would make you think twice before you used hot water, that's for sure.

Best,

-AC

Yes, I think that is what I have. I am not likely to forget the kettle however. I stand there over it while it is heating the water. It takes less than a minute to bring the water to an acceptable warmth level.

But I am not sure if what I am doing makes sense ecologically. I have to look at the whole picture. The basement water heater tank is 'natural gas' fired. The question is : is it less damaging environmentally to heat 4 litres of water with natural gas than 1 litre with electricity... What do you think?

My preoccupation may seem ridiculous to some, but if you multiply my situation by millions (number of people who wash twice a day with heated water), it adds up a lot.

If left on, yes. If only turned on as needed, no.