Products: Great Finds

Pete Barthelme & Russ Walker
Rohe + Wright Builders, Houston Rohe + Wright Builders have installed countless tankless water heaters in homes over the years, but recently the company has installed a half-loop recirculating system in conjunction with an electric tankless water heater that managing partner Pete Barthelme says will be offered to all of the company’s conservation-minded clients in the future. Consisting of an electronically controlled, demand-activated pump and valve assembly, ACT Inc. Metlund Systems’ Metlund Hot Water D’MAND waste prevention system enables the rapid delivery of hot water to plumbing fixtures within seconds without losing minutes’ worth of cold water down the drain.

Utilizing a remote button or motion-activated sensor, the D’MAND system circulates the ambient-temperature or cold water sitting in the hot water pipes back to the water heater. A dedicated return line or the cold water line can be used for this purpose. As this water travels to the water heater, the D’MAND system fills the hot water line with hot water. When the hot water reaches a thermal sensor at the fixture, the pump shuts off and the return line’s valve is closed.

“The concept is that less than one cup of water will come out of the faucet before [the water] becomes hot,” says Barthelme. And the system will retain that hot water in the pipes for about an hour, he adds. “It won’t keep heating water if you walk past [the sensor] every 10 minutes.”

Courtesy ACT Inc. Metlund Systems ACT Inc. Metlund Systems. 800.638.5863. www.gothotwater.com