Recap;
This occurs when no water is being used.
The only thing that seems to make it stop closing the valve on the water heater inlet.
The heater is approximately two years old and this did not occur prior to renovations.
Turning off power to heated has no effect.
There is no recirculation pumps or "instant hot water devices" installed.
Are all of the pipes CPVC or or part copper and part CPVC?
There is no recirculation pump, is there a recirculation line? May sound like a strange question but that's the set up I have, where gravity and syphoning cause the recirculation.
At this point I would suggest that the vibration is in the water it self, not the pipes because closing the cold water valve on the heater is the only thing that will cause a change.
Suggest turning off main house valve to eliminate outside world. If vibration or pulsation is there with main valve closed the source has to be in the house.
After thought, do you have fridge with ice maker, or water dipenser, could something there be causing vibration.