The BEE aims to recover waste and heat from shower drainage and converts to energy
Buildings in the western World account for some 40% of all energy consumed. Due to increased attention to the building fabric together with energy recovery systems, the energy utilised for domestic hot water heating, especially in areas of collective usage (hotels, spas, sport centres etc.)can now exceed that of the heating energy.
In the search for potential opportunities to reduce our carbon footprint, the significant amount of energy allowed to drain from a shower is an obvious area to be addressed. Recovering this energy is of obvious benefit both to the user and the environment.
In a shower for example, the waste water, typically at a temperature of 38/40°C is discharged to the drainage system.
The shower is an ideal application for applying a heat recovery device, there being a flow of cool mains water, typically @ 10°C to the mixing unit simultaneous to the drain to waste at a temperature typically at 38/40°C.
Innova have effectively addressed this issue with the design and development of a simple and efficient heat exchanger, the BEE.
The BEE comprises a corrosion resistant stainless steel serpentine heat exchanger through which the clean incoming mains water passes, housed within a polypropylene duct where the waste water flows and contacts with the heat exchanger.
Dependent upon the size and flow rate, the heat recovery can be between 30% & 75%, figures which have been verified by the University of Padua.
This in turn leads to a return on investment between 5 & 10months for heavy usage and 2 -3 years for light usage.
The key elements of the design are a flat plate heat exchanger to avoid the accumulation of waste products on the surface, a waste inlet higher than the waste outlet to induce a fall and of course a maximum overall height of only 81mm allowing the mounting in virtually any application. An inspection port is also provided.