Instant hot water, wrong side of house

doug30293 · 05-25-14, 03:20 PM

I am nearing completion (construction, not fitting out) of a mechanical room. This will enable me to move the HVAC, HW, and well water storage out of the living space.

Here's the problem. The kitchen and both bathrooms are about 35 feet of plumbing away from the planned spot for the HW tank.

I want the HW at the taps quickly. A circulation loop would be fine in the winter as the piping heat loss would be within the conditioned envelope. In the summer this would be unacceptable wasted energy.

There is room for a small HW tank in the downstairs bathroom. What are your thoughts on putting a 10-20 gallon HW tank in series with the main tank? It would provide quick HW and act as a buffer for the 30 feet of line from the mechanical room.

Next thought - tankless instead of a small tank at the bathroom, again fed by the main tank. I've never used a tankless and wonder how they react to sudden inlet temperature changes, such as would happen when the feeder line finally fills up with hot water.

Suggestions are welcome.

Doug

05-25-14, 03:20 PM	#1
doug30293 Too Many Projects Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: georgia Posts: 91 Thanks: 0 Thanked 6 Times in 6 Posts	Instant hot water, wrong side of house I am nearing completion (construction, not fitting out) of a mechanical room. This will enable me to move the HVAC, HW, and well water storage out of the living space. Here's the problem. The kitchen and both bathrooms are about 35 feet of plumbing away from the planned spot for the HW tank. I want the HW at the taps quickly. A circulation loop would be fine in the winter as the piping heat loss would be within the conditioned envelope. In the summer this would be unacceptable wasted energy. There is room for a small HW tank in the downstairs bathroom. What are your thoughts on putting a 10-20 gallon HW tank in series with the main tank? It would provide quick HW and act as a buffer for the 30 feet of line from the mechanical room. Next thought - tankless instead of a small tank at the bathroom, again fed by the main tank. I've never used a tankless and wonder how they react to sudden inlet temperature changes, such as would happen when the feeder line finally fills up with hot water. Suggestions are welcome. Doug