Home renovator Janine Whyte has finally overcome a water wastage problem that has challenged her each time she has embarked on kitchen improvement – how to overcome the big lag between turning on the tap and getting hot water.

“Because electric hot water cylinders are usually so far from the sink, it takes ages for the water to warm up if the tap hasn’t been used for a while. All that cold water is usually wasted,” Janine says, a keen water conservationist who recycles water wherever possible.

Her solution is an Australian designed, simply installed Aqueous rapid hot water system suitable for anyone with electric water heating who has ever worried about the amount of water and time wasted while running taps to draw hot water from typical large heating and storage cylinders.

Aqueous MK2 6L and 10L supplementary 240V or 12V water heaters from Aus J Hot Water Solutions are installed under sinks and benches near taps to deliver near-instant hot water at pre-selected temperatures from 30-70°C.

“It makes such a difference. You’re not standing their drumming your fingers waiting for the water to heat up and watching all that perfectly good water going down the plughole. It is simple and instant,” Janine says.

The ruggedly constructed water heaters eliminate delay because they position water heating right next to the point of use. Even if turned off for a while (such as at a holiday home or when families travel) they take only a few minutes to have hot water on tap when people return.

“They are really compact too and don’t take up much room at all under the sink, where I store all my cleaning materials. I can see that they could have other uses around the house too where there are long runs to the hot water cylinder or as a backup when the power has been off for a while,” she adds.

“You can set the 10L heaters to lower temperatures for safety reasons where you need to, but for me in the kitchen instant hot water is an absolute bonus. And I am delighted that all that water is no longer wasted.”

Janine recycles washing water and has introduced rain storage tanks for the garden and pool to offset rising water bills and to do her bit for the environment.

Aus J Director Jay King says hot water can account for a third of average household energy consumption, with each of us using about 50L a day: “It doesn’t make much sense in terms of energy conservation to be heating a lot of water that will go cold in the pipes waiting for use – and then there is the wastage of many litres of high-quality drinking water that is typically flushed down the drain just so we can get a few litres of hot water needed for many household tasks.”

The Aqueous MK2 comes with Australian WaterMark accreditation, which means that it passed extensive tests and requirements regarding its suitability for safely supplying water for human consumption.

Domestic, industrial and commercial building owners throughout Australia and the Asia-Pacific typically waste a lot of time, water and energy when turning on the hot tap and waiting for hot water to arrive from remotely located big tanks, which can be five or more metres away.

“This is wasteful of energy and water – not to mention frustrating when users must wait ages to serve up water needed for regular daily tasks such as washing and cooking,” Jay says.

“It doesn’t make much sense in terms of energy conservation to be heating a lot of water that will go cold in the pipes waiting for use – and then there is the wastage of many litres of high-quality drinking water that is typically flushed down the drain just, so we can get a few litres of hot water needed for many household tasks.”

Even if turned off for a while the new heaters take only a few minutes to have hot water on tap when people return, whose company’s innovations sold worldwide include dual 12V/240v Duoetto types for business and private use, as well as recreational vehicles, boats and holiday homes. The Aqueous MK2 can also be used in several mobile and recreational and work vehicle applications.

“In addition to householders, it would make a lot of sense for the building, construction and facility management industry to use this sort of technology, which is an inexpensive way to save water and energy. Other types of instant hot water solutions can cost 10 and 20 times the cost of the Aqueous,” Jay concludes.