Markets and opportunity. Peas and carrots.
Hand in hand go such things, and one would expect that in our new water conscious world, any device that can reduce water use in the home will go hand in hand with the phrase 'in demand'.
Here’s one device that has the benefit of being automatic and energy free.
It diverts the cold water sitting in the pipe between the hot water system and the hot tap to a storage (toilet, rain tank etc), then diverts the water back to the tap as it warms.
For all those whingers who need hot showers in Queensland it is probably a good water saving idea (yes, that's me).
I have, however, seen a nifty alternative. In Budapest I remember staying in an apartment that had a gas water heater bolted to the bathroom wall just one metre from the shower. Not only was the water in the pipe already warm from being inside, but there was hardly any water in the one metre of pipe anyway.
I’m not sure you can actually put gas water heaters indoors in Queensland, but one similar solution would be to have your water heater outside the shower wall.
Of course, if all that is a bit much and you still want to save water, you can just buy a diverter valve.
What? I have a much more significant use for that diverter valve. Place said diverter valve on your drainage pipe at the bottom of your shower - it diverts the 'waste' water back into your shower head and mixing it with fresh hot water to the desired temperature. This valve would be 'on' as default, thus capturing the accused water in the above article and recycling it until the comfortable showering temperature is reached. For the soaping and rinsing stages of showering, the valve is switched 'off' by the user - preventing showing in your own filth, and then turned back into the 'on' position for the deep skin soak stages of showering. Admittedly a much more complicated system, requiring a pump, controllers, temp gauges, piping and sufficient holding capacity, etc... - but with the advantages of:
ReplyDelete1. saving more water
2. saving energy, since the recycled water would still have a temperature > source temperature.
Keep an eye out for the Smithsonian-conscience-saving-super-shower (TM)
Alternative product names:
ReplyDeleteSmithies-Super-Soaker
Shower-shit-shower-shower-shower-shave-shower
*how much alliteration is too much? answer, see below.
catch phrases:
'Shower like you just don't care'
Any inputs people?
*answer: An angry alligator aimlessly and aggressively attacked all animals and ate at an alarming alacricity and also acted as a alliteration authors agent at alternate assignments, allegedly automatically agreeing allitritive amalgams and alluring all actions against any affairs associated and affected amidst anti American agencys
If you use a lot of water on the garden or have another use for fresh potable water or have a separate large storage tank for feeding to a toilet cistern then this makes sense.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, I really cannot understand why these devices do not feed this water back into the input of the hot water system. Not a totally easy problem to solve but surely not impossible. A pot of gold waiting for anyone getting to the end of that rainbow...