Comments on: AskPablo: Showertime

By: Bill W.

Bill W. — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 10:08:25 +0000

The perfect compliment to a low flow showerhead is The Hot Water Lobster Instant Hot Water Valve! It’s a revolutionary home water conservation product that will save water and get instant hot water to your shower! It saves a lot of water that’s normally wasted down the drain while waiting for hot water. Just install the thermostatically adjustable recirculation valve under the sink farthest form your water heater and you will have instant hot water throughout your entire home. I’ve had one for 3 years now and I’m very impressed!
The Hot Water Lobster uses no electricity and works off of your existing plumbing! It’s also pump free, so it creates no noise. It’s made in the U.S.A., has a 10-year warranty, and can be easily installed in under 10 to 15 minutes! It even has a money back guarantee! The savings in water and energy quickly recoups it’s low $179.95 purchase price! You can’t beat this product!
http://www.hotwaterlobster.com

By: Brunswickian

Brunswickian — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 15:54:55 +0000

A friend of mine who attends school in Colombia said that taking cold showers isn’t uncommon there. Heating up water for bathing, especially if one has an electric instead of gas heater, can be expensive. She has friends for whom cost wouldn’t be a concern, but she said they take cold showers anyway because that’s what they’re used to. Funny how something that would seem to be the norm (hot showers) turns out to be just another thing most Americans take for granted.

By: BobW

BobW — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 10:40:46 +0000

I bookmarket this a coupel of months ago:
http://www.gfxtechnology.com/
Keep up the good work, Pablo!

By: amritt

amritt — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 20:02:48 +0000

Building regulations in the UK now demand the use of heat exchangers on all newly fitted extract vents, no news on the pipe heat exchangers yet but sounds a promising idea.

By: dan19

dan19 — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 19:06:29 +0000

As far as that warm water “slipping down the drain”, you could install a greywater bypass to take that used shower and bath water outside to do some good — for example, irrigating your trees, shrubs or flowers. In the dry southwest U.S., bath and sink and washer water is commonly diverted from the sewage stream and used on citrus and other water loving plants. After it passes through the heat exchange, of course…

By: Pablo

Pablo — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 15:24:21 +0000

I have used this style of shower head in the past. The reason it works with so little water is Because it essentially turns the water stream into a high-speed mist. This ensures complete coverage and therefore makes it feel like more water is being used. The feel of this jet of mist is certainly unique if you are used to the virtual waterfall that you get from some shower heads. I think that it actually feels good and encourages good circulation in your skin tissue. If this is not your thing, there are some other low-flow shower heads that give more of a conventional shower feel, but use a bit more water. If you like the on/off feature you can just get a small valve at your local hardware store that goes between your pipe and your existing shower head.
Thanks for reading AskPablo!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 15:15:46 +0000

Pablo,
Have you tried that twelve dollar shower head?
It looks like some I’ve used in a few out of the way places that actually hurt.
I like the button for turning it off while you soap up though.

By: Pablo

Pablo — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 14:22:35 +0000

Dennis,
That is a great idea, one which I also had while taking a shower a few months ago (a true shower thought). I looked into this and found that someone had beaten me (and you) to the idea. I can’t find the initial site that I found but here are two pretty good resources: http://www.toolbase.org/Technology-Inventory/Plumbing/drainwater-heat-recovery http://www.smarthome.duke.edu/projects/heat_recovery.php
Thanks for reading AskPablo!

By: Stonehead

Stonehead — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 09:17:00 +0000

…where it drops down onto our bodies and slips right down the drain…
I’ve been thinking about this recently, and was considering fitting some form of heat exchanger to the drain pipes (a coil of copper tubing for example).
The hot water from the shower or sink would then heat the water in the tubing, which could then be piped into the inlet on the boiler – effectively a preheating system that could work in conjunction with solar.
Take this further, you could also use with extractor fans in the kitchen – pass the hot air through a heat exchange and use the heat for more water pre-heating (or other purposes).