An interesting (but hi-tech) conservation idea

[bellinghman]

According to the Beeb, a shower has been designed to help recycle water.

The shower works on similar principles to a Dyson vacuum cleaner, using filters and hydro cyclones, installed behind the shower unit, to clean the recycled water and reheat it to the desired temperature.

Now, it's going to be using some energy to do the filtering, but at the same time, it might also save energy. How come? Well, the major energy input into a shower in this country is heating the water from cold water temperatures. Since the water it's recycling will presumably be somewhat warmer than that (it was just running down your back!), that should make up for it. I'd be interested to see a full energy budget for it.

Comments

[korenwolf.livejournal.com]

There's also the saving in water being treated downstream in the sewage plant and in cleaning the water to drinking quality levels upstream. Would be interesting to see that and the savings in chemical usage vs the pollution costs of making the unit.

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

The water saving is its primary purpose, yes. I was interested in whether there might be some energy-for-water tradeoff, or whether it might even happen to save enrgy as well.

Sadly, I suspect the outflow will be more concentrated muck than before: the same amount of pollutants in a smaller amount of water.