Howzabout…

It has been a summer of unprecedented drought throughout the Southeastern United States this year, and about the only positive to come of it is a heightened awareness of just how wasteful we are when it comes to treated water usage. It is hard to blame someone for leaving the water running when they brush their teeth when water is a symbol for a limitless and free resource. But neither of those things are true, which got me to thinking…

The Problem
The pipes throughout the average home are a one-way path for treated water to the sewer system irrespective of the use it has seen. This standard needlessly causes much waste over time as homeowners wait for the water temperature to reach the desired level for bathing and hand washing.

The Opportunity
Construct homes with closed systems so that clean water would be recirculated without being used while it overcomes the drop in temperature that accompanies sitting in the pipes while not in use.

The Insight
The water from the hot water heater in a house can be brought to the desired faucet without first opening the tap, instead it can be circulated through the piping past that point until the water at the desired location has gotten warm enough for use.

The Execution
Install hydrothermostats in faucets and have them serve the same “pre-heat” function we already use when cooking with an oven. Once the water is hot enough the faucet can alert the user in some simple way.

The Selling Point
Water conservation. It has been postulated that humankind will run out of fresh water before food. (Sorry, no time to find a proper documentation to support this statement.)

The Incidental Benefits
It may be that having a constant circulation of water through the pipes (in the style of radiator heat systems) would bring down heating costs enough to offset the power used to drive pumps if the pipes and building materials used in the home were designed to lose heat in such a way as to warm the air when needed.