ᐅ Controlling a circulation pump via wireless or using a Circon module?

Hello everyone,

Probably the never-ending question.

In my three-story single-family house, unfortunately, a recirculation system was installed. It operates once a day, timed through the condensing boiler.

When I need hot water in the bathroom and especially in the kitchen outside of that time, it feels like forever until hot water comes out of the tap. It’s very annoying, and we don’t have a consistent daily schedule here.

Now the question is, how can this be optimized?

My dad (an electrician) suggested decoupling the pump from the boiler and installing wireless outlets and wireless switches (in the bathrooms and kitchen).

I noticed that the company CIRCON also offers an intelligent version of a smart outlet.

It can also be controlled via FritzBox, but I don’t like the switches for that.

So now my question is, are there any disadvantages between wireless switches (e.g., DEWENWILS wireless outlets) and the CIRCON version?

The regular switches seem cheaper overall for four tapping points, you just have to press them each time... the CIRCON system is supposed to offer some intelligence to the actual function.

Can anyone share their experience or tips?

Thank you very much,
Micha

bortel schrieb:

(...)
When I need hot water outside of the scheduled times, especially in the kitchen and bathroom, it feels like it takes forever for hot water to come through the tap. It’s really frustrating, and we don’t have a daily recurring pattern here.
(...)

The basic principle of automation is... basically... to model "regularly or predictably recurring processes"... according to myself on 24.09.2023...

Every household has some kind of routine, and the goal is to identify it and then optimize the circulation system accordingly. Of course, you’ll never achieve maximum efficiency this way, that’s clear. But comfort is the main priority, right? In terms of efficiency, a circulation system is generally pointless because water is constantly being pumped even when no one needs it.

And... this is a side effect of purely time-controlled automation... if you want to do something outside the routine, it takes longer than without automation. However, the energy savings usually more than justify it... each kWh of electricity saved easily corresponds to 2-3 kWh of lignite coal including mining, processing, and so on.

If you have a circulation system but still get cold water, something is definitely wrong, or maybe you tried to save energy by preventing the circulation from draining your buffer tank, which can also make sense. With active circulation in our system, it runs 2-3 times a day. Without circulation, only once a day with a 300-liter (79-gallon) buffer tank and four people. Are all the pipes insulated? In our case, without circulation, lukewarm water still comes out.

So you have to weigh your options because a wireless button won’t help much—you still have to wait for the warm water to arrive, or you waste time.

Especially with a condensing boiler, I would reduce the circulation pump to a minimal setting and let it run on a timer, for example, running at intervals every 3 hours for 30 minutes.

I have installed 3 switches in my home: in 2 bathrooms and in the kitchen. Actually, only the one in the kitchen is used. When activated, the circulation pump runs for about 6-7 minutes.
Alternatively, a flow switch with a run-on timer was used back then. That seems to me the simplest solution for you.

Offtopic schrieb:


So you have to reconsider, because a wireless button doesn’t really help—you still have to wait for the hot water to arrive... or you waste time.

We’ve been doing this for almost 20 years without wasting any time.
There is hardly any situation where I don’t know in advance that I will need hot water in a few minutes.
Even when I come home sweaty from sports, the first thing I do is hit the switch, and by the time I’m undressed, hot water is available.
And since the circulation pump only runs for a few minutes anyway, you can also opt for a more powerful model.

I ordered a wireless switch. I will check if the range from the basement to the attic is sufficient. Then I will look into it more thoroughly. But I actually find the solution quite okay.

Saving energy on the pump is not my goal. However, the more often the circulation runs, the sooner the 100L (26 gallons) boiler storage tank loses its heat, which annoys me. I would like to make this more efficient.