Hot water going down your drain is probably not the first thing you think of when talking about conserving energy and reducing CO2 emissions. However, several hundred billion KwH of energy is literally dumped down the drain annually in the United States in the form of hot water. What this effectively means is that a lot of energy is used to heat water which we use for relatively brief periods of time - washing our hands, washing the dishes, or taking a shower in the morning.

Heat recovery systems are typically found in commercial and industrial settings, but residential systems also exist. The GFX grey-water heat recovery system extracts heat from drain water through a heat exchanger that interfaces with existing plumbing in a home. This reclaimed heat is applied to incoming cold water before it enters the water heater, reducing the load on the water heater, saving energy, and indirectly reducing CO2 emissions.

Dave Chiu

CATEGORY: ENERGY PROJECT