New regulations heat up hot water situation

Dear Editor:

The U.S. Dept. of Energy, as part of the National Appliance Conservation Act, is mandating higher efficiency water heaters as of April 16, 2015.

What this means to Century Village (and other communities) is that since any water heater replacement after that date will require a compliant water heater and since the units fit under the counter by the sink, this poses a significant problem – a 2 in. taller water heater will not fit!

No one wants to redesign their counters to be able to change out a water heater. An alternate tankless heater, while a solution, is not a good solution since the electrical demands of the unit are much greater and would require probable transformer changes for the buildings to allow all of the residents to switch to the inline tankless heaters.

I was sufficiently concerned about this situation and called the manufacturer of my present unit.

Luckily, they decided to manufacture a compliant hot water heater that was wider but not taller. The new unit model will still fit under the present counters. As long as one manufacturer makes a unit that still fits, we are good.

So, when the time comes for your present water heater to go bye-bye, make sure the contractor does not try to sell you a new kitchen — just a new water heater.

Michael Routburg

Deerfield Beach

Celebrating Spring

Dear Editor:

I do look forward to spring weather, green grass and flowers in bloom.

The advent of spring is also a great opportunity to turn over a new leaf on our dietary habits.

In fact, hundreds of communities welcome spring with an observance of the Great American Meatout — celebrating its 30th anniversary.

Visitors are asked to go vegan, at least for a day, and to explore a healthy diet of vegetables, fresh fruits, legumes, and grains.

“Meatless Monday” has been making huge advances in public schools, universities, institutional cafeterias and restaurants.

The 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee is recommending reduced meat consumption. Stock market analysts are warning clients about potential “death of meat.”

Almost 50 percent of the respondents in a special GlobalMeatNews poll said they had actively reduced their meat consumption. Accordingly, per capita U.S. meat consumption has dropped by more than 10 percent since 2005.

Each of us can celebrate our own advent of spring by checking out vegan foods in our local supermarket and vegan recipes on the internet.

Peter Sullivan

Ocala