Category Archives: Hot Water

The Monster in the Basement- converting old boilers to modern HE models.

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Coal Fed Monster

I have a story to tell, a scary story. A story of a monster living in a basement, a monster with a ravenous appetite. But don’t worry, there is a happy ending.

The monster wasn’t always a monster. When it first moved into the old Victorian home in 1905 it was loved as a modern marvel. It provided warmth for its family throughout the coldest winters and all it needed was to be fed with a shovel full of coal a few times a day.

But as time moved on the monster consumed more and more coal and spit out a dirty, belching breath that polluted and scarred and nobody liked it anymore, except Arthur Scargill, who was a bit odd.

Arthur Scargill

So the monster changed. It started eating Natural Gas. Around 1970, a lot of things that liked coal became full of gas (again, Arthur Scargill comes to mind). And the family were happy again. For a bit.

For gas became expensive and the monster just could not get enough of it. The family were cold in the winter and this made them cross. They started to complain about the monster and wondered if anything could be done about it.

And the answer was, “yes”. Continue reading →

High Efficiency Water Heater- The alternative to Tankless.

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We are all aware by now that the standard storage tank water heater is out-dated technology that does not meet our needs for fuel efficiency and reduced carbon emissions.  We know that 45% of the gas used in our homes is attributed to our Domestic Hot Water needs.   Many people have researched tankless water heaters, also known as Flash water heaters or on-demand water heaters and found that they can increase efficiency dramatically and produce endless hot water with reduced carbon emissions.  This same research may have led them to the conclusion that there are some draw backs to tankless technology- long delays in hot water delivery to fixture with increased water wastage and high cost of installation in some cases.

There is another solution to the Water Heater problem, High Efficiency Condensing Water Heaters.

Continue reading →

Zeta Communities- Net Zero Modular Green Building

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Modular Green Building Oakland

Who moved my cheese?

Zeta communities is a new type of construction company. ZETA  is building modular homes in a factory in Sam Leandro CA. that are net zero, that means over the course of a year ZETA buildings’ energy production and occupant consumption of energy nets to zero. It does this by combining advanced energy efficiency technology with grid-tied photovoltaics and other clean energy sources.  Affordable, good quality construction, stylish and green.  Could this be the future of construction?

This Flagship home is certainly a very interesting concept and for a green plumber, its a treasure trove of new technology.

Continue reading →

Solar Hot Water Installation with Wi-Fi

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Bay Area Hot Water From The Sun

Capturing the suns energy for pre-heating a homes hot water has been with us since man started bathing.  In recent years the solar hot water industry has had a new lease of life with increasing energy costs and concern for climate change. The government has given home owners added incentives with tax credits.

The very latest advancement in solar hot water technology is the introduction of web based performance monitoring.  The Helio-Pak Pro from Heliodyne, a local solar manufacturer based in Richmond CA., has a built in wi-fi transmitter that the installer or home owner can access from there PC. , lap-top or smart phone.  This allows for performance monitoring  and trouble shooting from, well, anywhere. Continue reading →

Hybrid Water Heater- The Best Of Both Worlds

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Eternal hybrid Water Heater

Eternal hybrid Water Heater

The old storage tank water heater is a monster!  This monster comes from the primeval swamps of the last century, when gas was free, climate change had no meaning beyond,”looks like its going to rain this afternoon..” and people only took showers for about three seconds a week.

But then, a ray of sunshine pierced the darkness of water heating technology- the tankless water heater. Tankless water heaters are a vast improvement over traditional storage tanks.  They are vastly more efficient, they provide endless hot water and take  up very little space.  Fabulous!  Tankless water heaters slay the beast and all is well on the western front!

Errrr, not quite.  There are some serious performance considerations around on-demand water heaters.  Because there is no stored water with a tankless water heater, there is a considerable wait time while you run the faucet waiting for the unit to heat up. Water running down the drain while you wait.  And then there is the “cold water sandwich”, a phenomenon perculiar to tankless water heaters which is not that big of a deal unless you are in the shower when it occurs.

So, the storage tank is not quite dead and re-emerges in a shiny plastic coating with improved performance- the High Efficiency Storage Tank. 96% efficiency, super high recovery rate and PVC venting.   Well, just look at you go storage tank, all grown up.  But silver bullet you are not.  High efficiency tanks are good but they are no smaller than the old tanks, bigger in fact and cost an arm and a leg.

So, where is our night in shining armor to put these issues in the watery grave they belong in?    Is the Eternal Hybrid water heater the best of all worlds?

Continue reading →

Solar Hot Water: The Big No-Brainer

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Solar Thermal Collectors

With so many tax credits and incentives available with the current stimulus package, many people are looking to the sun for sustainable energy.  Solar energy can be harnessed in two ways, Photo-Voltaic (PV) solar is the process of generating electricity from the sun, Solar Thermal converts the sun’s energy into hot water.  PV gets a lot of attention; the very simple and less expensive Solar Thermal option is getting a new pulse of popularity. Continue reading →

Tankless Water Heaters – What You Should Know

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Takagi tankless

Tankless installed on exterior

The standard 40 or 50 Gallon storage tank water heater is a monster.  Operating at around 40% efficiency, 60% of the heat generated from the gas you burn goes out through the flue in the form of carbon emissions. On top of that, you pay for water to stay hot even when you do not need it; when you are at work, when you are asleep, when you go on vacation (do you turn off your water heater when you go away?). There is a pilot light which sucks your money continually like a little blue vampire. Continue reading →

Green Energy- a case study. Solar Hot Water with Hydronic Air handler.

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Madeline loves her home in Berkeley with views of the San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge.   As part of a kitchen and family room remodel it was necessary to relocate and upgrade the furnace and water heater.  Madeline, who is concerned about climate change,  sought the advice of her General Contractor, Paul Cerami of Cerami Builders and the plumbing contractor, Paul Gerrard of Pipeline Plumbing and Heating, to see which of the many energy efficient systems would be right for her home and her budget.

Madeline told us, “I already utilize solar PV for my electrical needs and I absolutley love it”.  She was very interested in solar thermal for her hot water needs.  ” I want to be a responsible citizen and reduce my energy costs as much as possible”.  Tax credits were another incentive.

Continue reading →