Hot Water Heater Recirculation Pumps
Water Heater Recirculation pumps do exactly what you think they do: they circulate water. In the case of a circulation pump for a water heater, the pump brings the hot water to the faucet quickly so that it is readily available throughout the home without a long wait time.
- The recirculation pump is usually placed at the water heater or, in some situations, at the bathroom that is furthest from the water heater.
- In most cases, the pump should have have its own dedicated return line. That’s because it is circulating hot water and if it didn’t have its own line, hot or warm water would be in the cold water line as well.
- If your home does not have a dedicated return line, there are circulation pumps that don’t require a return line.
Residential Circulation Pump
Typically a recirculation pump is constantly going as it needs to keep the hot water running through the pipes. However, one solution to that is putting the circulation pump on a timer so that it works when there is a heavy demand for hot water such as in the mornings or evenings. There are also so-called “on demand” type circulation pumps. These are often turned on by the homeowner pushing a button either on a wall or with a remote control.
Taco now has a SmartPlus circulation pump that not only can be adjusted to run for however long you like, but it also utilizes “smart” technology that actually studies your hot water usage for a week and then adjusts itself to that schedule. It will even turn itself off if not hot water usage is detected for 36 hours.
Two of the more popular brands of circulation pump are made by Taco and Grundfos. Here are links to their websites:
Each of these websites contain information about the many different makes and models they have as well as help in determining which circulation pump is right for you. If you have any questions about recirculation pumps or would like to schedule one of our technicians to come out and determine what type of water heater recirculation pump would work best for you, give us a call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! (866) 946-7842