Electric Shower Heat Recovery Unit.

The principle is good - although clearly better for showers than baths as for the latter the waste heat isn't available until after the hot water has been drawn off.


I gather that CAT had a play with various versions of the same idea quite a few years ago - but I understand it wasn't entirely successful (including one attempt at stored waste water to get around the 'bath' problem). One of the problems is that waste pipes inevitably accumulate nasty mix of grease, hair etc which can cut down the efficiency significantly - as Mike mentioned keeping such a device clean isn't going to be easy (unless someone's come up with a 'non stick' coating for the waste channel). I suspect that the cooling the waste water might also encourage the depositing and hardening of soapy/greasy/fatty deposits too.


Unless the technology has improved significantly, money is probably better spend on a decent low-flow shower head (some of the pulse type ones give a perfectly decent shower which much reduced hot water heating requirements).


  - Andy.

The principle is good - although clearly better for showers than baths as for the latter the waste heat isn't available until after the hot water has been drawn off.


I gather that CAT had a play with various versions of the same idea quite a few years ago - but I understand it wasn't entirely successful (including one attempt at stored waste water to get around the 'bath' problem). One of the problems is that waste pipes inevitably accumulate nasty mix of grease, hair etc which can cut down the efficiency significantly - as Mike mentioned keeping such a device clean isn't going to be easy (unless someone's come up with a 'non stick' coating for the waste channel). I suspect that the cooling the waste water might also encourage the depositing and hardening of soapy/greasy/fatty deposits too.


Unless the technology has improved significantly, money is probably better spend on a decent low-flow shower head (some of the pulse type ones give a perfectly decent shower which much reduced hot water heating requirements).


  - Andy.