How to Speed Up Your Hot Water (Without Installing a Tankless Water Heater)
Despite all the technological advancements that have made our lives so comfortable and convenient, from movies on demand to smart devices that can be controlled from a handheld computer in our pockets, we still have to endure some primitive situations. For example, that seemingly endless time spent shivering in the shower while waiting for the water to heat up. Or that painful moment when you go to wash your hands and water that seems to come straight from the Arctic splashes on you.
Waiting for water to heat is an age-old problem caused by simple laws of physics: Your water heater is far from the faucet or shower head, and it takes time to flush cold water out of the pipes. But there are ways to speed up the delivery of your hot water. The easiest is to install a tankless water heater, but installing it can cost thousands of dollars and require a lot of space that your home may not have. If you want to speed up your hot water production without incurring too much expense, you have a few more affordable choices.
Install a recirculation pump
One of the reasons hot water takes a while to arrive is weather: when you turn off the faucet, the hot water sitting in the pipes starts to cool. The next time you turn on the faucet, the cooled water will have to be forced out of the hot water lines before hot water can arrive.
To solve this problem, you can have a recirculation pump installed at a cost usually under $1,000. These pumps are installed on your existing water heater and work by continually circulating water through the pipes so it never sits there and gets cold. Because it is installed at the water heater, it also speeds up the delivery of hot water to your appliances, including washing machines and dishwashers, which can help them run more efficiently.
Point-of-use tankless heaters
Although a whole-house tankless water heater can be a large and expensive project, what is known as a “point-of-use” tankless water heater can be a more manageable and affordable solution. These are small enough to fit under a sink and are designed to provide hot water on demand right at that point of use. The heaters themselves typically cost a few hundred dollars, and installation usually costs less than $1,000. Due to their small size, it is possible to install one yourself if you are comfortable with plumbing and electrical work, but they may require careful calibration, so calling in a professional plumber is probably the best solution.
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Isolate
Since part of the problem with slow hot water is heat loss when water sits in the pipes, you can sometimes improve the situation simply by carefully insulating your hot water pipes. This is definitely a DIY job if you can identify and access your hot water pipes, and it’s not a very expensive job to hire, costing only $350 on average. It’s just a matter of wrapping the pipes with insulating sleeves and then taping everything up so it’s all properly sealed. This can help keep the water hot while it sits, so the next time you turn on the faucet, you’ll get the hot water you expect.
Adjust the restrictors
Cold water must flow from your pipes for hot water to reach your faucet or shower head. So one possible way to speed things up is to remove any flow regulators/restrictors that have been installed. These simple devices do exactly what it sounds like: they restrict water flow, saving energy and water and lowering your utility bills. But because they restrict flow, they also mean it can take longer for cold water to flow and for hot water to arrive. Therefore, removing or adjusting them can reduce the time it takes for hot water to reach you.
