You might get some valuable info on the plumbing forum. But have you considered a tankless water heater? They don't store the hot water like a traditional unitso they are considerably smaller. They heat the water on demand. They are popular in Asia and Europe and are beginning to gain a foothold here in the states. We have one in our detached garage. You can buy them at the big warehouse stores or at a plumbing supply house. There are pros and cons of course. I think one of the biggest factors is how much hot water you need. Another consideration is the temperature of the water as it comes into the house. That can make a big difference in how effective the unit is at raising the temperature. Plus you need to know that the installer is also capable of servicing the unit if something happens. My brother just put on an addition to his home and installed one in the closet in his master bath. He's been happy with it so far.

You don't need 3 separate faucets. I have two: the main faucet I use for washing (which isn't filtered) and then a small hot/cold faucet that's hooked to the filter and the instant hot. I left the filtered cold dispenser out of my original description because it's integrated with the instant hot system. The filter faucet I have is this one, I think. The only thing I don't like about it is that the hot lever is spring-loaded as a "safety" feature, so you have to hold it down to keep the water flowing. (I put "safety" in sneer quotes because I think it's less safe to force me to keep my hand near the hot water.) I actually have a ice/water dispenser on the fridge too. It dispenses chilled water, but it comes out quite a bit more slowly than the non-chilled water from the hold/cold dispenser by the sink. I tend to use the one on the fridge for a quick glass of ice water and the one by the sink for filling pitchers and other big stuff. I didn't try hooking the main faucet up to a filter because I think it would take a big filter to maintain the water pressure and flow rate you'd want from a faucet used for washing dishes, rinsing vegetables, etc. If I have time I'll try to post some photos of what my set-up looks like from above and below the sink. I may have to do a bit of cleaning first, though. :-) Depending on how carried away you want to get, a whole-house filter is an option. My next-door neighbor the plumber re-piped his house and put a big whole-house filter and softer system in his garage. It's two sealed units about 1 foot in diameter and 4 feet high each. He says they have to be changed every 5-10 years depending on how bad the city water is. I can ask him for the brand and model number if you'd like. It looked like a big job to install, though, not a DIY project. (Even for me, and I'm not afraid of sweating copper pipes.) And I'm sure we're talking at least a couple thousand dollars for the equipment and labor. Laura

After reading about various brands I am leaning towards Eemax for our under sink tankless water heater. Any experience with Eeamx as to quality and reliability. Aslo, how is their customer service when issues do arise?

A "water filter" consists of two parts: 1) A housing that holds one or more filter cartriges, and 2) Those filter cartriges. It is, of course, the filter cartridge that does all the work; the housing is just there to hold the cartrige(s) and to have something to connect the plumbing to. There are generally two kinds of housing/filter arrangements you can buy: 1. Proprietary designs, which are designed to hold only their proprietary fiter design. Generally, there is only one type of filter available, or a small handful of types. 2. Industry-standard filter housings, and cartridges that are designed to fit these housings. There are at least dozens, and probably hundreds, of different kinds of filter cartridges available that fit in these generic housings, tailored for every imaginable need. Proprietary systems are moderately expensive to very, very expensive, and give you very little flexibility. Standard systems are quite inexpensive, and give you enormous flexibility. Standard-format filters are used in huge quantities in restaurant soda fountains, in filtered water dispensers at your grocery store, to manufacture bottled water like "Aquafina", in pharmaceutical companies, industrial processes, and many, many other uses. There are vast economies of scale here. I am aware of no advantages whatsoever for the proprietary systems, except that they generate higher profits for their makers. I have attached a link to a page of standard filter housings. I have essentially the #160196 housing (the dual housing about half way down the page), which I currently fill with a CGAC-10 chloramine filter cartridge followed by a CCBC-10 coconut activated charcoal taste filter. It does a great job for our water (SF Bay area Hetch Hetchy water, which is disinfected with chloramine). Here is a link that might be useful: Water Filters Online