The Power-Pipe Technology

The Power-Pipe is a Heat Exchanger that usually uses the outgoing warm drain water to pre-heat the incoming cold freshwater. By doing this it raises the temperature of incoming cold water so your water heater does not work as hard, thereby consuming less energy, increasing hot water capacity, and extending your water heater's life.

In single homes and many other applications, the Power-Pipe is usually installed vertically, however horizontal applications are becoming increasingly popular for multi-level residential, hotels, dorms and even recreation centres.

When installed vertically, the water falling down the inside of Power-Pipe clings to the inside wall and flows in a very thin, turbulent film resulting in very high heat transfer rates. When installed vertically, the most efficient Power-Pipe will recapture over 72% of the heat available at a flow rate of 2.5 gpm. A 60-inch Power-Pipe can raise the cold water temperature from 50°F (10°C) to about 75°F (24°C), at an equal flow of 2.5gpm (9.5 lpm).

Engineered horizontal systems include 20 feet to 160 feet of 4" or 6" Power-Pipes. The system size mainly depends upon the hot water consumption in the building. The long system length provides for excellent system efficiencies. There are over 90 multi-level residential buildings and hotels that have cost-effective Central Horizontal Power-Pipe systems saving energy every day.

What makes the Power-Pipe special is its multi-parallel coils. This provides for low to ultra low pressure loss while having a highly efficient counter-flow design. Another key design feature is that the Power-Pipe can pass large solids through it's inner pipe without fouling or clogging up.

We have hundreds of CSA B55.1 rated and CSA B55.2 Certified Power-Pipe models to fit just about any space and application. The Power-Pipe is currently manufactured in 2 inch (54mm), 3 inch (76mm), 4 inch (108mm) and 6 inch (150mm) diameters and lengths ranging from 2 feet (0.6 m) to 10 feet (2.4 m). Horizontally installed CSA B55.1 ratings are also coming soon.

While the above explains the typical applications for the Power-Pipe, there are many other ways to deploy Power-Pipe technology to save money across all sectors and most building types.

Drain Water Heat Recovery (DWHR) Crash Course

In residential or multi-residential applications, when warm water goes down your drain from showering, a faucet, or washing appliances, it carries away valuable energy with it. The same applies for commercial or industrial applications, for any heated water processes which carry away valuable energy as they run down a drain.

Drain Water Heat Recovery is the process of recovering part of this valuable energy from the warm water, and using it to preheat your incoming cold fresh water. This process can be used for your home, apartment, condo, business or many industrial processes using heated water.

With an innovative and proven DWHR system such as the Power-Pipe, there are no moving parts. DWHR is already in use around the world, providing affordable, long-lasting savings.

The Science Behind Falling Film Heat Exchangers

Water flows rapidly down a vertical drain pipe. It is a common misconception that there is not enough time for the heat transfer to occur between the warm liquid and the wall of the inner pipe. The fact is that heat transfer is not highly dependent upon resident time but is far more dependent upon intimate contact between the fluid and the wall. Drain water flowing quickly becomes a very thin turbulent film of about a millimeter in thickness. As a result, it imparts its heat to the pipe wall very readily.

In the case of the patented Power-Pipe® DWHR, a series of formed copper coils are tightly wrapped around a specific length of copper drain pipe at our manufacturing facility.

This process forms what is commonly known as a double wall heat exchanger. The double copper wall design protects incoming fresh water carried in the coils from being contaminated by the drain water.