I have a gas water heater. Thinking it through, it occurred to me that you really want a rather large pilot light running all the time -- it should put out just the right amount of heat to keep the water at its temperature set point under the conditions of the highest ambient temperature around the heater during the year ( or maybe even adjust itself to the ambient ).
Hoyt Stearns Scottsdale, Arizona US -----Original Message----- From: Jed Rothwell [mailto:jedrothw...@gmail.com] Sent: Saturday, October 22, 2011 11:39 AM [Hoyt A. Stearns Jr.] Until the late 1980s, natural gas stoves and water heaters had stand-by pilot light that wasted energy, which is somewhat analogous to leaving a cold fusion reactor running. Energy was cheap and no one cared about the waste. Equipment was cheaper and simpler because we traded off efficiency. [Hoyt A. Stearns Jr.] ...
