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Get Double Use Out of the Hot Water You Buy With This Nifty Appliance!

hot water draining in sink

How would you like to pay once for hot water and get twice the use from it? This would be like getting your next round of hot water “on the house,” so to speak!

Here at Gravenhurst Plumbing, Heating & Electric, we sure do love modern technology, especially when it is energy efficient, too!

Now, there is a new appliance called the drain water heat recovery system (DWHR).

This nifty system can net you some pretty noticeable benefits, including improvements in energy efficiency, a reduction in utility bills, and faster, warmer hot water delivery! Plus, you are helping save the planet, and that always feels good!

What Exactly is a Drain Water Heat Recovery System?

Imagine you just finished taking a shower. Your water was nice and warm and you enjoyed your shower very much.

But the water was still warm as it ran down the drain and into your network of plumbing pipes and out into the next phase of its journey, whether that be a septic field or city wastewater treatment plant.

It might have even still been warmish when it got to its final destination! You paid for all of that warmth, but you got to use only a fraction of it and the rest was just wasted. What a bummer, especially when you consider that energy prices in the Ontario area can be significantly higher than elsewhere in Canada!

But not anymore: With the help of a DWHR, you can now recapture an estimated 50 to 60 percent of that lost heat energy and use it to preheat your next round of hot water!

How Much Money Can You Save By Using a DWHR System?

Here is what we know right now:

  • The average Canadian household uses 75 litres of hot water every day.

  • As much as 90 percent of the heat energy used to heat that water goes down the drain.

  • A high-quality DWHR system can recycle and reuse up to 60 percent of that lost heat.

  • An estimated 19 percent of your monthly household energy bill goes to heat the water you use.

Here is how a DWHR system can help you save on energy costs:

  • Reported Ontario residential energy costs range from $61.87 to $624.49 per month (375 kWh to 5,000 kWh). This works out to an average of $238.25 per month.

  • 19 percent of $238.25 is $45.27, which goes to heat the water.

  • 60 percent of $45.27 is $27.16, which is how much you save by recycling up to 60 percent of the heat you bought to heat your hot water.

  • $325 ($27.16 x 12 months) is your average annual savings from using a DWHR system.

Considering that the average cost of purchasing and installing a DWHR system is anywhere from $300 to $500 (U.S. Department of Energy), your new drain water heat recovery system could already be paying for itself in just 13 months!

For our commercial clients: You can use a DWHR system at work too and realize great savings on the estimated 8 percent of energy costs that go toward heating your water. Plus, you get the cool perk of improving your company’s carbon footprint in the local community!

How Does a Drain Water Heat Recovery System Work?

So now that you have a better grasp on potential energy savings from installing a DWHR system (and you can tweak these numbers according to where your household falls on the monthly energy cost range), let’s take a look at how this system actually works its magic.

Let’s go back to your wonderful warm shower. You have finished showering and the still-warm water is flowing down the drain pipe. But now you have a DWHR system installed to catch and recycle that heat.

As the still-warm water flows down the pipe, the pipe wall picks up the heat and transfers it to a series of copper coils that surround the exterior of the drain pipe. These copper coils are holding incoming fresh cool water that is flowing in to fill your water heater.

As the heat gets transferred to the coils, the incoming cool water becomes warm water. This preheats your water by 25+ degrees, so you don’t have to pay as much for new energy to heat your water.

In case you are curious, this whole process also has a name: the Falling Film Heat Exchange Process. The coils are called the Power-Pipe® DWHR.

As of 2017, Ontario Building Code revisions (SB-12) have mandated that all new home construction must include improvements that equal at least 15 percent energy efficiency and some type of drain water heat recovery system with a minimum 42 percent heat recycling efficiency.

Get a Free Quote On a Drain Water Heat Recovery System Today!

Are you interested in finding out more about how you can save every day by installing a drain water heat recovery system? We would love the opportunity to work up a free quote for your home!

Just give us a call at 1-877-885-3403 or fill out this simple online form to get the process started!

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