People seem to be finding all sorts of treasures in the bathroom these days. OK, maybe not find them as such, but create them, taking inspiration from or simply converting what they leave behind into a precious resource. Many have also taken the regular bathroom appliances and turned them into money-saving , or money-making, objects.
This might very well be related to the amount of time one spends in the very-often one and only room with privacy in the house, but this is a matter of domestic dispute, and not something I wanted to discuss here. Instead, let’s talk about the latest super cool gadget. It is a drain heat exchanger by Ecodrain, which can catch almost all of the heat that gets wasted down the drain with the hot water, used during our morning shower. Nice, ah?
Before we get to the details though, it would be nice to get a small reminder of what is already out there. There is the gadgets that uses water from flushing toilets and turning into into hydropower, there is the solar powered toilet that turns waste into electricity, and let’s not forget the technology that turns urine into drinking water and energy. Yes, there are also some small-scale drain heat exchangers, but the limitations associated with installing the gadgets are so many, that they easily outweigh the benefits.
The last one, however, would not be for long. The guys behind Ecodrain have taken it all into account and have finally made it possible for entire residential buildings to make use of the benefits. Firstly, Ecodrain can be placed horizontally right next to the shower drain, where the hot water will be coming from, and secondly, it is so easy to mount, that you would not require any special skills or a team of ten professional plumbers. If you are curious to see how it works, here is a link to a small video demonstration.
The makers guarantee that their invention can work for as long as 30 years, while you can easily pay it off within two or three years, depending on your overall energy consumption. So why wait, give it a try. It is only $440.
Image (c) Ecodrain
