Waste Wattage: Cities Aim to Flush Heat Energy Out of Sewers

But you'll waste a lot of water and heat waiting for the pipes to get hot and the hot water to propagate. Make a cup of tea in the microwave. Or boil a partial pot.

In our climate, the heat is usually on in the house. So if we heat a kettle on the gas stove, the waste heat warms the house with higher efficiency than the gas furnace, so it's a win.

Similarly, a large water heater tank loses more heat to the house, but we want that heat.

That's always done here. I haven't seen a problem.

Don't insulate that part, just most of the tank.;

The "high temperature" wire's

The new gas water heaters have the complex Honeywell Frankenvalve or equivalent.

I looked into instant-on gas water heaters but they seem to need a lot of periodic attention. And they are expensive. Again, we don't mind waste heat in the house.

Me neither.

That's idiotic advice. If the thermostat includes the heat sensor, it's goi ng to end up just as hot and the plastic will crumble just as fast, while t he rest of the tank will run even hotter to keep the temperature at un-insu lated thermostat - and temperature sensor - at the set point.

Much better to find a thermostat from a different (and perhaps more reputab le) supplier. It isn't the functional bits of the thermostat that crumble, but the casing around them. There are lots materials that last forever at 6

A better answer might be to find a source of better thermostats. Joe Fly-by

-night is always with us, and his gear will be the cheapest in the shop, bu t you will get a strange look from the shop-assistant if you are silly enou gh to buy it.