Are Poop Pumps on the Horizon?

[hausdok]

According to an article in Radiant and Hydronic E-News, the Europeans are experimenting with heat pump systems that derive their heat from sewage in much the same way that a water source heat pump derives its heat from water.

Apparently, there’s a new heat pump in Oslo, Norway that costs nearly $14M and uses fridge technology to extract heat from the sewage in a 300-meter long tunnel. The heat is then transferred via a heat exchanger to hot water pipes that supply hot water to thousands of radiators and taps throughout the city. The heat pump is supposed to provide the equivalent of 18 megawatts of power and reduces consumption of oil by nearly 6,000 tons a year.

Obviously, it’ll be a while before this concept gets scaled down for residential use. Who knows? In the not-to-far-distant future, we may need a whole new set of disclaimers for our reports.

[a46geo]

This will be interesting. For optimum heat transfer the transfer medium will need to be in direct contact with its heat source. For that to happen somebody is going to be needed to take his or her toothbrush and clean the old, dried "heat source" from the 300-meter long coil.

This could open up a whole new cottage industry and we would no longer need home inspections as our primary source of revenue. Maybe mold is gold after all?

[Brian G]

I'm for anything that will improve efficiency, but.... Ick!

Brian G.

It's Gonna Be Extra Cold Tomorrow; Kids, Start Eating & Take Your Laxatives! [:-crazy]