Hey, Where's the Hot Water? In many ways, new homes may be
experiencing the best of times. But for their hot water
distribution systems it can be the worst of times. It is 6 am on
a workday. Picture yourself standing before the master bath
lavatory in your brand-new home with the faucet on full getting
ready to shave. Minutes pass as you await the arrival of hot
water to help you awake and ease the shave.This scene is being
played out throughout the nation in new homes, even
energyefficient ones, as a combination of factors converge to
give the homeowner longer waits for hot water and higher
energy,water, and sewer bills (see “The Worst of Times for New
Hot Water Distribution System Efficiency,” p. 38). The Oak Ridge
National Laboratory (ORNL) studied hot water distribution
systems for the California Energy Commission using a newly
developed model to simulate the performance impact of a number
of hot water distribution system parameters (see “Are You
Getting into Hot Water?” HE Sept/Oct ’03, p. 33).This artic