HI- I am building a new house. We live in the desert so we dont have concerns about freezing. However, we do have to bury the water main deep or the water is so hot in the summer its uncomfortable to take a shower.

I had a plumber do the underground- sewer/vents---but I was going to do the rest. I have the water main coming in, some people tell me to run a pipe to make a water softener loop, and then to the water heater---then branch out hot and cold from there. Others tell me, run the water softener loop, run a branch to the water heater, then go from there. I'm not sure it makes a lot of difference in how the water works- but what is the best way? I was going to put some ball valves in to isolate rooms, or isolate sections of the house.

Also we have no gas here. I was thinking of a tankless, but the electric tankless seem to use a ton of electricity, and i'm not sure they save any money. I would probably consider a propane- but if I do that I will run propane cooking and tankless hot water. The issue there is tankless uses a LOT of propane, ie a few gallons a day vs a stove that uses less than one. Of course it depends on how much /often you run it.

Has anyone gone down this road? Any advice? I am an HVAC contractor- and can get RHEEM tankless units for a little less than other brands. It looks like the Rinnai are the most expensive---does anyone have any advice which brand or which ones to avoid? The one thing I have going here is I can do an easy "home made" solar water heater. I have made them before with a large black box, 4x6' and copper tubing going back and forth from top to bottom. A glass top is placed over it and by the time the water comes out (in the 110 degree summer) it was boiling. I had to put ball valves to tap in to shorten the run. The one thing I want to find is a tank to store that hot water for nights and cloudy days. I can use a regular tank heater but without cold high pressure water going in, nothing comes out. I know they make "solar water heater tanks" they are now 2-3K. Insanely expensive.

Thank you for your advice and info. THanks for reading. Mark

i would take full advantage of your abundant sunshine.
remember the government is hell bent on doing away with propane in a few years.
there are ways of dealing with too hot water coming from your roof.
in my opinion rinnai is the best tankless out there.

as for piping you water supply, it is hard to give an opinion without seeing the layout of fixtures

Search YouTube for "solar water heater." In Arizona many people use this all year long. Well worth spending a few dollars when it pays you back forever.

in my area the best is Navien but I like Tagahi tankless and this is what my house has

For Arizona a solar heater with a LARGE well insulated tank for storage is perfect.

Solar will run the pump providing the 'heating medium' or the circulation for the water itself.

The low voltage controls are pretty simple.

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