Warning: This idea may contribute to decreases in your overall energy bill.

What is cheaper to keep heated, water or air? The answer is water, for it has a higher specific heat capacity.

So, this idea is to take any hot water out of a faucet, and turn as much of it to steam as possible. This will be performed using a very thermally conductive metal with a comprably high heat capacity arranged in a fin or mesh arrangement to optimize residence time of the faucet water in the mesh for maximum net heat transfer to the air. This mesh will sit in your sink and heat your kitchen/bathroom.
-- daseva, Sep 29 2006

How about a system that diverts hot waste water through a heat exchanger going to the furnace/water heater?
-- Aq_Bi, Sep 30 2006


//What is cheaper to keep heated, water or air? The answer is water, for it has a higher specific heat capacity.//

Please explain this statement. A higher specific heat means that MORE energy is required to raise the temperature of the substace.

Maintaining the temperature of a volume of substance is far more dependant on environment than it is on any intrinsic characteristics of the substance inself. A one liter glass pot of coffee and a one liter thermos of coffee are going to cool at significantly different rates. And a liter of coffee spilled on an ice flow is going to cool faster than either.
-- Galbinus_Caeli, Sep 30 2006


lemme break this down for you.

My hot water is included in the rent.
-- daseva, Oct 01 2006


Well, what if your electric company cuts you off, but not your water company?
-- daseva, Oct 01 2006


It's dependent on a lot of stuff, luitenant.
-- daseva, Oct 01 2006



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