Is Your Heat Going Down The Drain With Your Hot Water?
Posted by Lisa Carey
Don’t let get caught in “hot water,” reduce, reuse and recycle not only your water usage but the heat and energy used to create your hot water.
Recycling plastics, cardboard, aluminum, newspapers and glass is but the tip of the iceberg for trying to freeze our energy use and resource consumption. We all know it is even better to reuse than to recycle because recycling itself requires energy. Of course never using is even better, as in getting your own aluminum water bottle and not purchasing bottled water. There are some resources though that most of us aren’t ready to do without. One of those is hot water.
Home Hot Water Heating Facts & Figures:
-The average home uses more energy to heat water than for any other activity.
-Heating water accounts for up to 30% of home energy bills.
-Ninety percent of 90% that heat energy goes right down the drain with the used water.
-If we can’t live without hot water, can we at least recycle the heat to heat more water?
Yes, the energy used to heat hot water can be recycled in some cases.
Of course the used water itself, often called grey water, can be reused. All water leaving your home except by way of the toilet is considered grey water. For example, water used for showering can be recycled for other activities like rinsing a car or watering plants or the lawn. For most households, this amounts to between 30,000 to 50,000 gallons of water per year. But what about the energy used to heat the water? Is there an alternative to simply sending that heat energy down the drain?
In addition to recycling the grey water, some of the heat can be recaptured and reused as well. Heat recycling from hot water uses a heat exchanger to recover and reuse hot water heat from activities like dishwashing, clothes washing or showering. These devices, such as the EcoDrain or the Kill a Watt, use the heat from the exiting water, for example, your shower water, to heat up the returning water. Heat recapturing can save energy and money. Some point out that the water is not as hot when it returns to the drain as it was when it originally presented, so it is not an apples to apples savings, but many heat recapturing devices boast a 60% heat energy recapture.
In addition to the EcoDrain and the Kill a Watt devices, The Power-Pipeâ„¢ also uses the hot water run- off to warm the incoming water. Copper coils wrapped around an inner pipe provide the heat transfer. The Power Pipe is estimated to raise water temperature as much 24 degrees centigrade, which in most cases would mean The Power Pipe would pay for itself with energy bill savings in as little as two years.
The RenewABILITY Energy Corporation makes the Power Pipe in Canada. Prices range from $500-$1000 depending on size. Canada has been a leader is recognizing the eco-benefits of hot water heat recycling. Canada offers retrofit devices to green existing homes and offers grants for adding eco-friendly devices to recapturing hot water heat energy in new homes.
Of course, the opening points still hold true for hot water energy recyclers. Conservation is still the best way to go green. Using as little hot water as possible and never wasting hot water is still best. Beyond conservation, you can continue to think green and reuse grey water as well. However, all doesn’t have to be lost when it comes to heat going down the drain. You can consider a heat exchange device to recapture the heat energy going down the drain and that is really using your head.
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3 Responses to “Is Your Heat Going Down The Drain With Your Hot Water?”
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Terry says:
Hi Julian. It seems a good idea but you need to make sure that you can clean the pipes under the floor as I think they will soon get blocked.
All the best Terry -
Frances Pitcher says:
We heat our water only i hour a day except from June to October we turn off the water heater and use as is. We live in the low desert of AZ. also use water from evaporative cooler to water our fruit trees and water from our pool to water other food garden plants.
Thanks
Hello, I am about to fit an insulated grey water store from which the hot water will flow through underfloor heating pipes in the kitchen, embedded in 30-40mm of concrete screed, on top of 25mm of insulation. Hopefully I can recapture some heat, store it in the concrete, thus reducing the amount of energy need to heat the floor electrically. I will have this done by November. The pipe diameter is 16mm (ext) and this should reduce the flow sufficiently to allow heat transfer. Something is better than nothing. Julian