Waste Water Heat Recovery (WWHR)
Frequently Asked Questions

Wasted hot water is a huge untapped resource in the UK which is why it is important to have a good understanding of the technologies that can make showering and other hot water processes more energy efficient.

Typically, up to ninety percent of heat produced during showering is lost down the drain but the majority of this energy is recoverable through installing a Power-Pipe which is up to seventy percent efficient.

Installing a Power-Pipe can allow a home-owner to reduce their annual energy bills by ten percent or 500Kwh per person per year.

This could be a cost saving of £80 to £100 and the more people using the shower, the greater the energy saving returns.

These systems also reduce carbon emissions in a home by between 300kg to 1000kg a year dependent on how often the occupants shower and what fuel they use to heat their water with.

Power-Pipes have no electrical components, filters or controls so require no user interaction or maintenance. If they are made from 100 percent copper, they are also expected to last the life span of a building.

Waste Water Heat Recovery is now recognised by The National House Building Council (NHBC) as one of the methods that can be used to pass Building Regulations Part L and is the most cost-effective way of increasing a Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) score.

Dependant on the model or size, a Power-Pipe costs between £250 to £750 (including installation) but will offer a generous SAP uplift in the region of two to eleven percent which could be the difference between a pass or a fail on a property. This is an equivalent energy saving to triple glazing or solar thermal, but at a fraction of the cost.
Power-Pipe has the most cost-effective units and highest WWHR SAP rating units in the UK which come with a ten-year manufacturer’s warranty.

Power-Pipe also offers developers greater flexibility as it’s the only system that comes in two diameters (50mm and 100mm) and multiple lengths (from 610mm to 2130mm) which gives you the choice to find a unit that best meets your budget and energy efficiency requirements.

Installation is much more straightforward with a Power-Pipe WWHRS. This is because all our systems come with 22 mm connections as standard and we are the only systems that do. This means the person who is fitting it won’t have to reduce the size of the incoming mains water feed (also 22mm) which would restrict the flow of the water passing through it.

Unlike other WWHR systems, these 22 mm connections, along with our patented multi-coil design, ensures virtually no pressure loss to the pre-heated water system. This means multiple showers can be run off one unit, making it even more cost-effective.

A 110mm Power-Pipe (R4 series) requires a recommended minimum cavity of 125mm by 180mm. NOTE: This size unit replaces part of the SVP so, it is only slightly larger than the cavity size that would already be required for the SVP.

A 50mm Power-Pipe (E2 & X2 series) requires a recommended minimum cavity of 75mm by 130mm. Please note that this is in addition to the SVP that it is usually installed alongside.