would it work in Pakistan-problem same?

Sun, 27/09/09 - Leighton Jenkins

source;www.openforum.com.au

When you turn on your hot water tap at home how long does it take to become warm? It is typical in a kitchen for 2-3 litres to flow before it becomes warm, let alone hot. This water in the pipes between the outlet and the water heater is called “dead water�.

A typical kitchen might use this up to 12 times a day and then generate some 13,000L of dead water annually; all of which goes down the drain. My laundry is a long way from the hot water and so it draws off some 4.5L before it becomes warm.

However, there’s some exciting news just around the corner with regard to plumbing installation. Currently before the committee WS014 –AS3500 Part 1 & 4 is an amendment that will require builders/plumbers to consider any pipe-work associated with heated water systems to comply with new guidelines. In essence the guidelines will outline that hot water systems will re-circulate hot water or the amount of dead water drawn off at any outlet does not exceed 2 L.

This is great news for the water hungry parts of Australia.

Significant savings can be made and will help us with our water shortages. However, with all good news comes a small penalty. In this case it will likely increase the cost of plumbing in a new development. With around 150 000 new dwellings built each year this new legislation will require some extra planning for building developers and plumbers.

For example builders could put in a re-circulation product which has a pump continuously moving hot water around the home, so instant hot water is always available. So no water is wasted but running the pump and continuously reheating water in pipes is a penalty on the carbon ledger. Houses could be redesigned to have all services in a central area or small heaters could be dotted around a building rather than having them centrally located.

Or we can always innovate our way out of such an issue.

I am currently collaborating with Winns Folly under the Federal Government’s COMET programme. The Winns Water Saver is an Australian innovation that has received the Federal Government ‘climate ready’ grant. It is a water diverter, essentially diverting all dead water into a storage tank that allows it to be used in toilets/WC or routed to the rainwater tank. It does not require a pump and saves all the dead water. It can be used in ‘mixer’ taps also but perhaps its greatest innovations are that it has a ‘teenager shower’ function whereby after a four minute shower the water will pulse on and off every five seconds. Four minutes is the normal shower time recommended by many water authorities.

By the end of the year this legislation is expected to be passed and then become part of each state and territories building requirements.

I am currently running some test surveys in this area and would appreciate you measuring the amount of ‘dead water’ in your home (measure using a bucket or milk container) and entering sharing your results by following this link to the survey.

Leighton Jenkins is a business, marketing and sales consultant with a focus on IT&T and start-ups. His corporate experience includes Microsoft, Optus and SAP. He develops marketing and sales strategies and plans for growing companies. Leighton is also experienced in developing growth plans for use in raising capital or government funding. To connect with Leighton please visit The Jenkins Partnership, check out his regular blog, email Leighton@thejenkinspartnership.com.au, or send him a tweet @LeightonTJP