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Minnesota Homeowners Discover a Fitting Solution to their Hot Water Woes:
The Ultra Mini, Ultra Efficient EMT1By Jens BolleyerSituation
When Kevin and Julie Perlinger built their Duluth, Minnesota home five years ago, they paid particular attention to the kitchen; Julie even designed it herself. And while she made sure there was special scaffolding to support her extra-large, extra-heavy granite farmhouse sink, she didn’t give much thought to the distance the water would have to travel from the home’s water heater to reach that sink. That distance, she soon discovered, became a costly and frustrating problem.
Hurry up and wait
“For even the simplest tasks, like rinsing a pan or wiping down the counters, the water was barely lukewarm,” she recalls. To get the hot water she needed, Julie would do what many of us do every day: turn on the faucet and wait. Eventually her water would grow hot and the tasks would be completed. In the meantime, Julie wondered exactly how much water — and money — she was wasting. As it turns out, quite a lot.
According to one industry study, running the water for just 45 seconds (using a 1.7 GPM aerator and 1/2” supply pipe to the faucet) wastes an average of 1.27 gallons. Add in the cost of pumping the water from a well or the expense of heating a 30, 50 or 80-gallon tank’s worth of water (only to have it travel to the kitchen faucet and sit there unused and growing colder by the minute) and you get the idea. Assume the average homeowner repeats this “turn on the faucet and wait” process at least 3 times a day, seven days a week, 365 days per year, and the waste quickly adds up. By some estimates, as much as 463 gallons of perfectly good, perfectly wasted water goes down the drain in the average home each year.
What to do? The homeowners weighed many options, even going so far as to consider installing a second water heater in the basement near the kitchen pipes. The expense of new equipment, coupled with the need to reroute pipes and sacrifice valuable storage space to house the heater, rendered that solution untenable. Fortunately, the homeowners’ plumber, Summit Mechanical Service of Duluth, MN, had a big idea — albeit one that came in a very small package. He suggested the EMT1 electric mini tank water heater from Eemax, Inc.
A mini-sized tank with maximum flexibility
The EMT1 is the industry’s first (and only) glass-lined, one-gallon electric mini tank water heater. It’s the mini tank that truly is a mini. Featuring a lightweight, ultra-compact design that fits virtually anywhere, the EMT1 goes where other water heater tanks can’t — even into a cramped cabinet housing the support system for an oversized farmhouse sink.
Recalling her initial impression of the EMT1, Julie says, “I was just so grateful that the mini tank fit. I remember thinking, this unit would be perfect for someone living in a city apartment or anyone with very limited space. It just makes perfect sense … and the product is a much more affordable solution than rerouting plumbing.”
It may be small, but the EMT1 delivers big. With unbeatable heat response and recovery times, the EMT1 ensures hot water where and when you need it — eliminating the age-old frustration and needless expense of running the water continuously until it warms. The convenient one-gallon capacity makes the EMT1 equally well-suited for residential applications as well as light commercial hand washing needs. This versatile unit can be used as a stand-alone heater for distant fixtures (half-baths, supplemental wash sinks, outdoor kitchens or commercial kitchenettes) or hooked up in line with an existing system to store hot water at the point of use, such as in a primary kitchen area or bathroom vanity sink.
Super fast equals super clean
When installed as a “booster” in a kitchen, the EMT1 does even more than reduce water and energy waste; it can improve hygiene. Consider, for example, the typical household dishwasher. Because the EMT1 can store water at 140°F at the point of use, the water pumped into the machine at the start of the dishwashing cycle is already hot. The result: Cleaner, more thoroughly sanitized dishes than those washed with water starting at a more ambient temperature.
Regardless of where the EMT1 is located, installation is fast and simple. The EMT1 plugs into a standard 110-volt outlet, eliminating the need for special hardwiring and making installation quick and easy for professional and DIY installers alike. The glass-lined tank with heater anode rod ensures product longevity while an easy-to-set, external adjustable temperature dial with “freeze protect” setting allows customization of water temperature from 50°F to 140°F.
“It’s just smart”
Would a professional plumber recommend the EMT1? After seeing his customers’ enthusiastic response to the product, Ben LaLone of Summit Mechanical Systems says he definitely would. “They absolutely love it … This is a great product for someone with a long wait time or anyone who just wants hot water, fast.”
The homeowners agree: “This is just smart.”
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