http://homesinoaklandhills.com/2009/10/red-flags-and-things-to-look-for-when-buying-an-oakland-piedmont-or-berkeley-home/ HomesInOaklandHills | HomesInBerkeleyHills | HomesInPiedmontCA Sun, 01 Nov 2009 03:56:07 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 http://homesinoaklandhills.com/2009/10/red-flags-and-things-to-look-for-when-buying-an-oakland-piedmont-or-berkeley-home/comment-page-1/#comment-198 Brian Richardson Sun, 01 Nov 2009 03:56:07 +0000 http://homesinoaklandhills.com/?p=857#comment-198 When encountering a pump attached to a water heater, take a closer look and note the model number and date of manufacture. Be aware that homes with a pump on the water heater typically have a dedicated hot water pipe the loops through the home. These systems utilize the pump to circulate water throughout the loop. If you do purchase the home it's a good idea to upgrade the system with an up-to-date system which can limit the pump operations to times when hot water is actually needed and can even be controlled via on-demand using a push-button or occupancy sensor. Redytemp is my preferred system as it allows the thermostat to be installed at the last hot water usage point on the loop. This allows the pump to stop once hot water has reached the last sink instead of heating the whole loop needlessly. We learned the hard way how much these systems can run up a utility bill if allowed to run 24 / 7. Our gas bills were $400 dollars higher than they are now after we updated our system with a Redytemp circulator. When encountering a pump attached to a water heater, take a closer look and note the model number and date of manufacture. Be aware that homes with a pump on the water heater typically have a dedicated hot water pipe the loops through the home. These systems utilize the pump to circulate water throughout the loop. If you do purchase the home it’s a good idea to upgrade the system with an up-to-date system which can limit the pump operations to times when hot water is actually needed and can even be controlled via on-demand using a push-button or occupancy sensor. Redytemp is my preferred system as it allows the thermostat to be installed at the last hot water usage point on the loop. This allows the pump to stop once hot water has reached the last sink instead of heating the whole loop needlessly. We learned the hard way how much these systems can run up a utility bill if allowed to run 24 / 7. Our gas bills were $400 dollars higher than they are now after we updated our system with a Redytemp circulator.

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