Approximately one third of a
home's energy use is to heat water. Most of the hot water used is quickly
drained away. A heat recovery system within your drain system can recover
as much as 70% of this heat and recycles back for immediate use.
As water falls down a vertical section of drain pipe, it
clings to the inner surface in a very thin film. The heat from this film is
efficiently transferred to the cold water that circulates around the device on
the outside of the drain pipe. The recovery system raises the temperature of
incoming cold water by recycling free heat from waste water going down the
drain.

Commercial Users Too!
Restaurants, Lodges, Hotels can immediately benefit by using this heat recovery
solution!
Approximately 80% to 90% of all
hot water energy goes down the drain can be recovered, allowing you to recycle
as much as 60- 70% of wasted heat. The more hot water used, the greater the
saving.
The design is
simple, easy to install and contains no moving parts, nor does the system
require additional electricity for recovery, circulation or heat. The
simple design offers the following features:
-
Inexpensive
-
Easy to install
-
Short pay-back
period
Sample shower drain
installation

Picture of Laboratory TEST in
progress

Conclusion
GFX has the
ability to recover between 60% - 75% of heat from waste water, the system can
provide savings even for a 2 minute shower over a one year period. From
operating the GFX, it has demonstrated an ability to recover heat under
controlled conditions. In a real application, the GFX will be affected by
external conditions, heating and cooling the cylinder, also, the inner GFX air
temperature will alter the heat transfer and will affect the input water
temperature. Therefore, it is recommended that an insulated covering of the
device will improve operation. Also, contaminants or particulates in the water
e.g. soap etc., will also alter the heat transfer conditions. However due to the
smooth inner tube, the possibility of the build up of contaminates will be
reduced, but as with any household/industrial waste water pipe, some form of
build up is possible.
Northern Ireland Center for Energy Research and Technology
University of Ulster,
Cromore Road, Coleraine, BT52 1SA.
Northern Ireland
Dr Neil J Hewitt and Dr Peter Henderson
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