Canadian company pioneers new sewer lines that bring a return on waste heat

-In Canada, a new residential development will be the first to capture waste heat from its sewer lines. Sudbury Ontario has approved the use of re-enforced pre-cast concrete pipe that are lined with geothermal piping channels. The pipes are installed like any other, with exterior connectors added that join up the channels. These channels, which carry a mixture of 30% ethanol in water, are hooked to a heat pump located inside each building serviced by the system.

The patent pending concept, called @Source-Energy Pipe, is the brainchild of the four principals of Renewable Resource Recovery Corporation (RRRC) of Sudbury Ontario and the pipes themselves are manufactured locally by Rainbow Concrete Industries (RCI). The four are Boris Naneff of RCI, Robert Mancini, a geothermal energy consultant, John Hood, an instructor at Cambrian College, and Les Lisk, a renewable energy educator.

According to Naneff, the four met at an energy conference some three years ago where Hood and Lisk brought up the concept with Naneff. After only 6 months of development, the @Source-Energy Pipe was born. He adds that “the beauty is, there is no risk. Everything used is proven technology and all are long-life products.” Standard geothermal and concrete pipe. Standard geothermal equipement. All simply re-thought and re-packaged into what is truly a very clever idea.

Initial test results show that 100 feet of pipe eight-to 12 inches in diameter has an energy capacity of 40,000 BTUs per hour, while pipe 26 to 30 inches in diameter of the same length has a capacity of 90,000 BTUs per hour. In the summer, the system is reversed for use in air conditioning, like typical geothermal installations. Energy savings year round range between 10 and 20%.

Naneff notes that, in terms of carbon footprint, hooking up a single home to the system has the effect of taking three motor vehicles off the road. And while digging up existing systems to retrofit them may not be practical, in a new development such as the 18-lot Sudbury subdivision, sewer pipe has to be laid anyway. Thus, there is no additional cost to install the system.

Naneff said that if every home in Sudbury used the system, “it would be like taking 260,000 vehicles off the road, which is actually three times the number of vehicles in the city.” The new subdivision will be monitored to determine actual energy savings.

RRRC is in the process of introducing the design to the pipe manufacturing industry. The company hopes to license the concept.