My home has three bathrooms about fifty feet from the water heater. I would like to have instant hot water in those baths, but am confused regarding what would be the best option. To save money and water I would be happy with a system I could control (on or off or timers). Not looking for a brand, but a solution.

Not all tankless hot water heaters are suitable for circulation pump installation. Most of them that are will required Storage Tank installed under the heater. Price to install is high.

Those tankless hot water heaters that are suitable for pump installation, manufacturers are very specific as to what brand of pump to install and how it should be installed. However, with pump installed, they may lower their warranty by half.

NAVIEN is the only company today that I know of that makes Tankless hot water heater with built-in hot water circulation pump, small storage tank (built in) and buffer tank. All is nicely packed inside the water heater body.

To have instant hot water, you will need to install "return" line from the most distant bathroom and run it back to the heater. Depending on configuration of your house, it may require some extensive plumbing work.

Some claim that adding hot water circulation pump to your tankless heater defeats the purpose of tankless heater. Google it, read about it, judge for yourself.

Suggestion: since all of your bathrooms are located 50 feet away, why not install tankless heater behind that bathroom group to eliminate hot water delivery time.

Back to you / Milo

I would install a hot water recirculation pump under the furthest sink. I am a distributor for the ACT D'mand Kontrols pump. It is activated by a button or a remote control. It works by pushing the cold water sitting in the hot water pipes back to the water heater through the existing cold water pipes and drawing the hot water from the heater. It works with both conventional and tankless water heaters and is the only one that does not void tankless water heater warranties because it is on-demand rather than on a timer or thermostat.

If you want to see them, go to my website at <site removed>.

If you have any questions, please contact me anytime.

Cliff