Quote:
Originally Posted by Xringer
But, "domestic water heat recovery" for space heating??
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The heat recovered from domestic water is usually used for pre-heating incoming water. However, it would be possible to use a very small vapor compression machine to recover heat from domestic water, as well as recover heat from outgoing ventilation air, and yes this heat could be a contribution to the overall heating load.
There already are off-the-shelf units in Europe ('combi units') that recover heat from outgoing ventilation air.
Needless to say, these units would not be appropriate for a home that has high heat loss due to uncontrolled infiltration and insufficient insulation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Xringer
Maybe, if you live in one of those Zero heat loss houses.
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Hopefully, it is not necessary to explain to you that there are no zero heat loss houses...
But there are extremely low heat loss houses, and there are many people right here at EcoRenovator who are working purposely and intelligently to reduce their heat loss to very low levels.
The reasons for people doing this are varied...
- Comfort that results from living in a warm draft-free home.
- Reduced operating costs because of reduced energy consumption.
- Reduced contribution of CO2 to shared global air.
- And lastly, many people are beginning to realize that the energy they use is directly tied to destruction of the environment and reduction of quality of life for someone else. An example of this would be the mining of coal (the primary source of electricity) in West Virginia with techniques of 'mountain top removal'.
Here is an example of the results of mountain top removal... These were formerly beautiful green tree-covered mountains in West Virginia. Not only is this land being devastated, but the lives of people living directly in this area, and much further down-wind and down-stream are being very seriously degraded.
To make light of the seriousness of energy and resource reduction, and of "green" philosophies and goals, is to be in denial of this reality.
-AC_Hacker