System Trims Water Heating Costs by Up to 30 percent

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWaterloo, CANADA–RenewABILITY Energy Inc., Reid’s Heritage Homes and Union Gas have completed the installation of 250 Power-Pipe DWHR Systems at the University of Waterloo, Columbia Lake Village North Community (CLV), Ontario. Now completed, the Power-Pipe DWHR Systems is expected to reduce water heating in unit showers by 20 percent to 30 percent.“This is a simple, affordable and scalable turnkey heat recovery technology that dramatically reduces water heating costs,” says Ron Salisbury, manager- Home Performance at Reid’s Heritage Homes.“Reid’s Heritage Homes which partners with the University of Waterloo in maintaining the University residences has been installing DWHR systems in many Energy Star and LEED-Certified residential communities and retrofit projects in the state of Ontario,” says Salisbury.DWHR pre-heats cold intake water with warm or hot drain water prior to entering a standard water heater or on-demand water system in residential and multi-residential applications – reducing water heating costs and energy usage significantly.  Natural Resources Canada reports that water heating is the second largest energy use in Canadian single and multi-family properties. The 20 percent to 30 percent reduction in water heating translates into a 6 to 9 percent reduction in total energy usage. The typical Power-Pipe DWHR unit will reduce GHG emissions by about 200kg/person/year when displacing Natural Gas water heating.  In a four-person home, that amounts to a reduction of almost one ton of green house gases per year per Canadian household.