Re: Hot water
I'm not really sure how this couyld be changed, besides centrally locating the hot water heater in the house. The pipes have water in them, and if they haven't been used in a while, the water will be whatever the ambient temperature is around the pipes. This translates into "cold" water in the pipes. The hot water is in the water heater and probably a few feet up the outgoing pipe of the heater. Like waiting on a line, the people in front move first, and they all have to get out of the way before it's your turn. The longer the line, the longer the wait. The hot water is the same way. In my house, (a Gardenia) the master shower is literally on the other side of the wall from the HWH. So it takes only seconds to get hot water to that shower. The second bath is on the opposite side of the house, and it takes some time to get the hot water there. Anything that would keep the hot water hotter or circulating will use BTU's to keep it warm, so instead of wasting water you'd be wasting gas.
What I do to partially reduce this water waste is brush my teeth (with "hot" water) while I wait for the hot to arrive in the bathroom. Once it's on that side of the house, the shower will get hot quick.
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