{"id":14874,"date":"2017-09-12T11:11:49","date_gmt":"2017-09-12T00:41:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=14874"},"modified":"2024-10-02T10:30:04","modified_gmt":"2024-10-02T01:00:04","slug":"conserving-hot-water-gives-better-return-diverter-relay-heat-pump-hot-water-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/conserving-hot-water-gives-better-return-diverter-relay-heat-pump-hot-water-system\/","title":{"rendered":"Conserving Hot Water Gives A Better Return Than Any Diverter, Relay, Or Heat Pump Hot Water System"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_14962\" style=\"width: 1610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14962\" class=\"size-full wp-image-14962\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/save-hot-water2.jpg\" alt=\"shower of money\" width=\"1600\" height=\"900\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/save-hot-water2.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/save-hot-water2-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/save-hot-water2-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/save-hot-water2-1024x576.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-14962\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">In all the excitement that is solar hot water, simple efficiency often gets forgotten.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>I&#8217;ve been writing a lot about hot water lately and how to use the energy of the sun to get it.\u00a0 In fact, I&#8217;ve been concentrating on it so much I&#8217;ve neglected my other duties and gotten into hot water as a result.\u00a0 Mind you, this may have all been part of my cunning plan, as I do enjoy a hot spa.\u00a0 And if it is heated by people&#8217;s hot tears of rage and frustration over my failure to do as I have promised, well that&#8217;s just me being energy efficient.<\/p>\n<p>Because that&#8217;s the kind of guy I am &#8212; efficient.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>This article is all about energy efficiency.\u00a0 Specifically, hot water conservation.\u00a0 Before spending $1,000 or more on a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-hot-water-diverter-comparison\/\">solar hot water diverter<\/a>, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/using-fronius-inverter-smart-meter-relay-make-solar-electric-hot-water\/\">hot water relay<\/a>, or a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/hot-water\/heat-pump\/\">heat pump hot water system<\/a> to reduce the amount of grid electricity or natural gas used for water heating, I think it is worthwhile to see if hot water use can first be cut by taking a few simple steps. This is because simple conservation can provide a far better return on investment than anything else.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m afraid I don&#8217;t have any brilliant new ideas for cutting hot water use and it&#8217;s quite likely you&#8217;ve heard all my suggestions before.\u00a0 So if you already know all you need to about:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Water saving shower heads and water saving discs.<\/li>\n<li>Using cold water for clothes washing.<\/li>\n<li>Insulating pipes, and..<\/li>\n<li>Hunting down and destroying hot water leaks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Then feel free to skip this article.\u00a0 Go read this <a href=\"http:\/\/fafblog.blogspot.com.au\/2005\/05\/how-do-you-solve-problem-like-korea-so.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">12 year old piece on North Korea<\/a> that appears to have been written by President Trump<sup class='endnote'><a href='https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/conserving-hot-water-gives-better-return-diverter-relay-heat-pump-hot-water-system\/#en-14874-1' id='enref-14874-1' onclick='return hhEndnotes_show(14874)'>1<\/a><\/sup> or something instead.<\/p>\n<h2>Water Saving Shower Heads<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-14921\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/showerhead.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"100\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/showerhead.jpg 100w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/showerhead-75x300.jpg 75w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 100px) 100vw, 100px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Water saving shower heads are not a new thing.\u00a0 They have been around a long time and chances are you have them already.\u00a0 I was going to look up what exactly what Australia&#8217;s building codes require for shower head efficiency, but <a href=\"http:\/\/www.standards.org.au\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the site<\/a> I was using wanted to charge me money to download them and I decided that while ignorance may not be bliss, it is at least affordable.<\/p>\n<p>According to the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.waterrating.gov.au\/consumers\/water-efficiency\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Australian government<\/a> an old fashioned, non-water saving, profligate shower head uses 15 to 25 liters of water a minute.\u00a0 Any shower head you can buy these days normally has a three star rating, which means it will provide approximately 9 liters of water per minute or less.<\/p>\n<p>I went to a local branch of a large hardware chain store to see what they had on offer.\u00a0 I don&#8217;t want to give them free advertising, so I&#8217;ll just name them after my favorite anti-social activity and call them Punnings.<\/p>\n<p>The majority of shower heads at Punnings stated on their packaging they would provide 9 liters of water per minute, but the cheapest one available said it would provide 8 liters a minute for the low price of only $15.\u00a0 Unfortunately there was a huge price jump to the next most efficient shower head, which was 7.5 liters a minute for $89.<\/p>\n<h2>Ultra Low Flow Shower Heads<\/h2>\n<p>Those who want the smallest amount possible spurted on them in the shower can invest in something along the lines of the Methven Kiri Satinjet Ultra Low Flow shower head:<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_14927\" style=\"width: 602px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14927\" class=\"size-full wp-image-14927\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/methven.jpg\" alt=\"Ultra Low Flow Shower Head\" width=\"592\" height=\"297\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/methven.jpg 592w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/methven-300x151.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 592px) 100vw, 592px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-14927\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">This flying saucer looking thing is supposed to have a flow rate of only 4.5 liters per minute. <em>Image credit: <a href=\"https:\/\/pure-electric.com.au\/products\/methven-kiri-satinjet-ultra-low-flow-4.5-litre\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pure-Electric<\/a> \/ Methven.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<p>Which is the self proclaimed lowest flow shower head available in Australia, providing only 4.5 liters per minute .\u00a0 The word kiri in its name is Japanese for fog or mist.\u00a0 It also means &#8220;cutting&#8221;, as in hara-kiri, but I&#8217;m pretty sure that&#8217;s not the connotation they were going for.\u00a0 Otherwise it would be called the Methven Kiri Satanjet Ultra Low Blow.<\/p>\n<p>This type of shower head costs around $150.\u00a0 Unfortunately, not everyone will be satisfied with only only being sprayed with 4.5 liters a minute.\u00a0 So before you get one, you may want to first try out the cheap water saving discs I describe further down.\u00a0 If you find the 6 liters a minute they can provide is fine, then you may be happy with only 4.5 liters.<\/p>\n<p>Personally, I&#8217;m happy with only being dribbled on, but that&#8217;s just the kind of guy I am &#8212; dribble happy.<\/p>\n<h2>Savings From Water Saving Shower Heads<\/h2>\n<p>If you don&#8217;t have water saving shower heads already, they make a lot of sense.\u00a0 Not only will you save on energy, you&#8217;ll also reduce water bills.<\/p>\n<p>My parents pay 17.4 cents a kilowatt-hour to heat water using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ergon.com.au\/retail\/residential\/tariffs-and-prices\/economy-tariffs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">tariff 31<\/a> in Queensland.\u00a0 If they run their shower for an average of 10 minutes a day at the usual shower temperature of 41 degrees<sup class='endnote'><a href='https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/conserving-hot-water-gives-better-return-diverter-relay-heat-pump-hot-water-system\/#en-14874-2' id='enref-14874-2' onclick='return hhEndnotes_show(14874)'>2<\/a><\/sup>, then each 1 liter reduction in shower flow per minute will reduce their hot water use by 1,700 liters a year.\u00a0 This is enough to save them $15.50 a year.\u00a0 So if their shower head went from 9 liters a minute to 4.5 their annual savings would be $70.<\/p>\n<p>Also, because they pay 0.15 cents a liter for water, changing to an ultra low flow shower head would save them $25 on their water bills for a total annual saving of almost $100.\u00a0 If they ran their shower for a total of 20 minutes a day, as many larger households do, they would save close to $200 a year.\u00a0 This is a far better return than any solar hot water diverter, hot water relay, or heat pump hot water system can offer.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-14949\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/giphy-1.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"374\" \/><\/p>\n<p>In Perth the savings would be even higher for people using standard electric hot water systems, due to the lack of cheaper controlled load tariffs used for heating water.\u00a0 The savings are likely to be less in the rest of Australia, where controlled load tariffs are generally cheaper than in Queensland.<\/p>\n<h2>Water Saving Disks For Showers<\/h2>\n<p>Shower heads are rated for a certain number of liters per minute, but it&#8217;s only an approximation.\u00a0 What really determines the flow is the water pressure.\u00a0 If it&#8217;s low then changing to a water saving shower head can reduce a spray to a dribble.\u00a0 If being dribbled on is not your thing, then getting a low flow shower head may not be for you<sup class='endnote'><a href='https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/conserving-hot-water-gives-better-return-diverter-relay-heat-pump-hot-water-system\/#en-14874-3' id='enref-14874-3' onclick='return hhEndnotes_show(14874)'>3<\/a><\/sup>.\u00a0 But provided your water pressure is high enough, you can use a water saving disc to reduce the flow at very low cost without needing to replace your shower head.<\/p>\n<p>Water saving discs look like this:<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_14908\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14908\" class=\"size-full wp-image-14908\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/disk.jpg\" alt=\"Water Saving Discs\" width=\"600\" height=\"368\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/disk.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/disk-300x184.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-14908\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Water saving discs. Image credit Punnings. I mean Bunnings!<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The red ones reduce your flow down to 9 liters a minute and the blue ones 6 &#8212; depending on your water pressure.\u00a0 To install them, remove the shower head and put a disk in the pipe that connects to the shower head.\u00a0 There is a video <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=9NMuhn8UPwc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a> showing how to do it by an organization with a name very similar to Punnings.\u00a0 (Maybe Punnings should sue.)\u00a0 There will probably already be a disk in there, so how much of a reduction in water flow results depends on how it compares to its replacement.<\/p>\n<p>Also, if the water flow in your shower is too low for you, the disc that is already there can be removed and either replaced by one with larger holes or not replaced at all.<\/p>\n<p>At $5.84 at Punnings for a packet of four, it is probably the cheapest way to cut your hot water use.\u00a0 There are other methods for reducing shower water flow, but trying this first makes a lot of sense.<\/p>\n<h2>Free Shower Head Swaps For Victorians!<\/h2>\n<p>Victorians can <a href=\"http:\/\/yourenergysavings.gov.au\/rebates\/showerhead-exchange-vic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">trade in their old shower heads<\/a> for water efficient ones, free of charge.\u00a0 Personally I&#8217;d rather just pick up a new water saving shower head from Punnings, or water saving disks, but that&#8217;s just the kind of guy I am &#8212; incredibly rich.<\/p>\n<h2>Shower Timers<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_14911\" style=\"width: 250px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14911\" class=\"size-full wp-image-14911\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Terminator.jpg\" alt=\"Shower Cutoff Daddy\" width=\"240\" height=\"339\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Terminator.jpg 240w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Terminator-212x300.jpg 212w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 240px) 100vw, 240px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-14911\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shower cutoff timers evolved from Terminators.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>If you are a masochist, you can pay <a href=\"http:\/\/www.showerguard.com.au\/store\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">hundreds of dollars<\/a> to have an automatic shower cutoff timer installed that will stop your shower operating after 5 minutes or whatever period of time you program into it.\u00a0 It will then prevent you from turning the shower back on again.<\/p>\n<p>Personally, I&#8217;d rather spend my money on increasing the amount of hot water I have rather than paying money to be punished by a machine for using too much of it, but that&#8217;s just the kind of guy I am &#8212; not completely stupid.<\/p>\n<p>Fortunately, you can get a water proof timer for your shower that will just beep at you and remind you to get a wriggle on.\u00a0 Which is only mildly annoying rather than being a mechanical device with a heart of pure evil.<\/p>\n<h2>Use Cold Water For Washing Clothes<\/h2>\n<p>Modern laundry powders and liquids are amazing.\u00a0 I don&#8217;t even bother using a washing machine anymore.\u00a0 I just soak my clothes overnight and they are ready to go.<\/p>\n<p>My children are less enthused about the wonders of modern chemistry.\u00a0 Rather than celebrate our new found freedom from mechanical washing, they describe this behavior as, &#8220;Daddy broke the washing machine trying to fix the squeak and he&#8217;s too cheap to buy a new one.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>But that&#8217;s kids for you.<\/p>\n<p>And that&#8217;s just the kind of guy I am &#8212; cheap<sup class='endnote'><a href='https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/conserving-hot-water-gives-better-return-diverter-relay-heat-pump-hot-water-system\/#en-14874-4' id='enref-14874-4' onclick='return hhEndnotes_show(14874)'>4<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n<p>For those of you who are still shackled to conventional notions of clothes washing and insist on using a machine, there is no real need to use hot water.\u00a0 For most people and most loads of washing cold water will do fine.<\/p>\n<p>I am no expert on clothes washing and if you want to tell me that warm or hot water is better for removing some kinds of stains I&#8217;m not going to argue with you.\u00a0 I&#8217;ll just I&#8217;ll take your word for it.\u00a0 But Choice magazine says there is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.choice.com.au\/home-and-living\/laundry-and-cleaning\/washing-machines\/articles\/energy-efficient-washing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">little difference<\/a>, so if you haven&#8217;t tried cold water I&#8217;d suggest at least giving it a go.<\/p>\n<p>A front loading washing machine will use around 7 to 10 liters of hot water for a warm wash.\u00a0 If it averages 8 liters and you do three loads a week, that will come to 1,248 liters of hot water a year.\u00a0 If you pay 17.4 cents per kilowatt-hour of electricity to heat it, using cold water will save you around $11 a year.\u00a0 A top loading washing machine is less efficient and so may cost you twice as much.\u00a0 This means switching to cold water won&#8217;t save a large amount of money, but if you can&#8217;t notice any difference with your clothes, it&#8217;s still worthwhile.<\/p>\n<h2>Insulating Pipes<\/h2>\n<p>When I went to Punnings I spoke to a man there about insulating hot water pipes.\u00a0 He didn&#8217;t seem to think it was necessary in Australia&#8217;s climate.\u00a0 But for people who want to give it a go, they had plenty of foam rubber insulation tubes, at a few dollars per meter, for different diameters of pipes:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-14915\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/tubes.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"220\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/tubes.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/tubes-300x110.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>My Punnings advisor was probably correct that pipe insulation won&#8217;t make a large difference for most Australian homes.\u00a0 Unfortunately, I don&#8217;t know enough to estimate how cost effective it may be.\u00a0 The general consensus appears to be that it&#8217;s not worth paying someone to do it for you, but if you are happy enough to do it yourself, it may save you a few dollars a year and eventually pay for itself.<\/p>\n<p>It is also possible to get a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.valvecosy.com.au\/features.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">valvecosy<\/a>, which is an insulating cover for the valve on your hot water system.\u00a0 It costs around $20 and will probably take a very long time to pay for itself.\u00a0 But it does have a drainage channel, which is important, and will probably look a lot better than a valve hood you fashion yourself out of foam rubber<sup class='endnote'><a href='https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/conserving-hot-water-gives-better-return-diverter-relay-heat-pump-hot-water-system\/#en-14874-5' id='enref-14874-5' onclick='return hhEndnotes_show(14874)'>5<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n<p>If you want far more detail about the effects of pipe insulation than you probably want, you can get it <a href=\"http:\/\/www.pipa.com.au\/sites\/default\/files\/document\/attachment\/pop206.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Eliminate Hot Leaks<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_14919\" style=\"width: 260px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14919\" class=\"size-full wp-image-14919\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/drip.jpg\" alt=\"20,000 Drips Under The Sea\" width=\"250\" height=\"175\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-14919\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">It can, but it probably won&#8217;t. And who leaves a tap dripping for a whole year anyway? Image Credit: The Victorian Government.\u00a0 (Or possibly Skynet depending on just what time this article gets published.)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>According to the Victorian Government, a leaking tap can ooze over <a href=\"http:\/\/www.whitehorse.vic.gov.au\/IgnitionSuite\/uploads\/docs\/Sustainable%20Living%20Guide%20Water.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">20,000 liters a year<\/a>.\u00a0 All I can say is, that&#8217;s one hell of a leak.\u00a0 More of a trickle really.\u00a0 But such hot water leaks can exist and I&#8217;m afraid some homes leak hot stuff like a British cabinet during a sex scandal.<\/p>\n<p>If you did have a 20,000 liter a year leak in a hot water tap and you pay 17.4 cents a kilowatt-hour to heat water, which is what is typically paid in Queensland, then it would cost you $180 a year in electricity.\u00a0 Most tap leaks aren&#8217;t going to be nearly that bad, but it is still definitely worthwhile to replace the washer as soon as a drip starts.\u00a0 If you don&#8217;t know <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=kYHq4Jh2-3Q\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">how to do that<\/a>, my brother knows, so get him to do it for you.\u00a0 (Tell him I sent you.)<\/p>\n<p>But while leaking taps can be bad, a leaking hot water system is potentially much worse.\u00a0 A friend of mine, a beautiful Scottish lass with flaming red hair on account of how she strongly believes in stereotypes<sup class='endnote'><a href='https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/conserving-hot-water-gives-better-return-diverter-relay-heat-pump-hot-water-system\/#en-14874-6' id='enref-14874-6' onclick='return hhEndnotes_show(14874)'>6<\/a><\/sup>, had a leaking outdoor hot water system and it ended up costing her hundreds of dollars per quarter before she worked out it was because the hot water system had been leaking all that time.\u00a0 The reason her electricity bills were so high was definitely not because I had been secretly living in the roof space of her home, as she had long suspected.<\/p>\n<h2>Small Steps Can Have A Large Payoff<\/h2>\n<p>Reducing water flow from your shower heads or fixing taps as soon as they start dripping doesn&#8217;t seem as exciting as installing a hot water diverter or relay or a fancy new heat pump hot water system, but that&#8217;s only because it isn&#8217;t.\u00a0 It&#8217;s not new, it&#8217;s not exciting, and you can&#8217;t really boast to your friends about how you&#8217;re really conscientious about fixing drips as soon as they start.<\/p>\n<p>Well, I do.\u00a0 But that&#8217;s just the kind of guy I am &#8212; a big drip.<\/p>\n<p>But what these changes can do is provide a better return on money invested than any of the above methods. By all means invest in an efficient water heating system, but make sure you invest in hot water efficiency first. \u00a0Because simply changing to an ultra low flow shower head can provide a rate of return of over 100% per year and, since it costs nothing at all, washing clothes with cold water can provide infinite return.<\/p>\n<p>While you may fear creating an infinite return will destroy the world&#8217;s economy, I say go ahead, do it!\u00a0 Because that&#8217;s just the kind of guy I am &#8212; utterly reckless.<\/p>\n<p>Or mildly economically literate.\u00a0 Either one.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_14950\" style=\"width: 410px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14950\" class=\"size-full wp-image-14950\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/giphy-1-1.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"229\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-14950\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Invest in water hot water efficiency and you&#8217;ll soon be able to afford to swim in real water rather than worthless gold.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I&#8217;ve been writing a lot about hot water lately and how to use the energy of the sun to get it.\u00a0 In fact, I&#8217;ve been concentrating on it so much I&#8217;ve neglected my other duties and gotten into hot water as a result.\u00a0 Mind you, this may have all been part of my cunning plan, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":14962,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[42],"class_list":["post-14874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-solar-hot-water","tag-energy-efficiency","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Conserving Hot Water Gives A Better Return Than Any Diverter, Relay, Or Heat Pump Hot Water System - SolarQuotes Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Before buying a solar hot water diverter, a hot water relay, or a heat pump hot water system, consider these simple steps to cut water heating costs.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/conserving-hot-water-gives-better-return-diverter-relay-heat-pump-hot-water-system\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Conserving Hot Water Gives A Better Return Than Any Diverter, Relay, Or Heat Pump Hot Water System\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Before buying a solar hot water diverter, a hot water relay, or a heat pump hot water system, consider these simple steps to cut water heating costs.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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While both the panels and heat pump will need to be proficient performers, it is possible for the combination to beat solar thermal hot water which is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Solar Hot Water&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Solar Hot Water","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-hot-water\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/pv-powered-heatpump.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/pv-powered-heatpump.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/pv-powered-heatpump.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/pv-powered-heatpump.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":91205,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/fact-check-actually-we-can-heat-homes-just-fine-without-efficient-gas\/","url_meta":{"origin":14874,"position":3},"title":"Fact Check: Actually, We Can Heat Homes Just Fine Without &#8216;Efficient&#8217; Gas","author":"Ronald Brakels","date":"April 28, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The \"Australians for Natural Gas\" group has today been reported to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) for allegedly misleading claims. I've looked into this group and found it is spreading a number of false messages on social media, including that gas is an \"efficient\" source of power and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Getting Off Gas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Getting Off Gas","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/getting-off-gas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A dial pointing to the right above the word 'false'","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Fact-Check-false.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Fact-Check-false.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Fact-Check-false.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Fact-Check-false.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Fact-Check-false.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":93241,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/nsw-doorknocking-energy-efficiency-mb3226\/","url_meta":{"origin":14874,"position":4},"title":"NSW Tightens Up Energy Efficiency Incentive Schemes","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"July 16, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Doorknocking will be banned for New South Wales' Energy Savings Scheme (ESS) and Peak Demand Reduction Scheme (PDRS) from the beginning of August, and a new warranty requirement for heat pump hot water systems supported under the ESS will kick in. What Is The Peak Demand Reduction Scheme? As the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A door-to-door salesperson with a heat pump hot water system","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/doorknocking-energy-schemes.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/doorknocking-energy-schemes.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/doorknocking-energy-schemes.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/doorknocking-energy-schemes.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/doorknocking-energy-schemes.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":54722,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/electric-hot-water-solar\/","url_meta":{"origin":14874,"position":5},"title":"Are Off Peak Hot Water Tariffs A Waste Of Time For Solar Owners?","author":"Ronald Brakels","date":"October 25, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week Finn got me into hot water.\u00a0 He did this by referring me to a study called:: \"Analysis of electricity consumption and thermal storage of domestic electric water heating systems to utilize excess PV generation\" Let me translate that from Academeze into English for you: Are electric hot water\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Solar Hot Water&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Solar Hot Water","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-hot-water\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Off peak hot water tariffs and solar power","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/off-peak-hw.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/off-peak-hw.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/off-peak-hw.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/off-peak-hw.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/off-peak-hw.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14874","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14874"}],"version-history":[{"count":52,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14874\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87159,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14874\/revisions\/87159"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}