This text is part of the special Energies section
A Quebec company is offering an innovative solution to recover heat from wastewater, which normally gets lost in building drains, and reuse it to heat the building.
Hot water accounts for almost a third of the energy in new multi-residential homes. Once used for showering, washing, dishwasher or another of its many domestic uses, it simply flows into the meanders of the building’s drains.
The production of hot water therefore represents a very great potential in terms of energy savings, which has not escaped David Pineault, himself passionate about energy efficiency. The holder of a bachelor’s degree in engineering physics even interrupted his master’s studies in mechanical engineering to create, in 2018, the company RegenEAU, which precisely wishes to tackle this waste.
The system developed by the company is based on heat pumps that draw energy from a building’s wastewater and on an innovative solid/liquid separation process. “We have a ready-to-use device that sits directly on the drain lines and allows us to just branch off the liquid, collect it, and expel its heat before returning it to the building drain” , explains the company’s founder and CEO.
The big advantage of RegenEAU’s solution is the ease with which it helps to recycle waste water heat. Its device should result in three times lower energy consumption in a building. “We can already say that it’s between three and four times less energy, but all year round, which no other current solution allows,” specifies Mr. Pineault. We should achieve four or even five times less energy with new technologies that we are working on. »
Obstacle course
The development of such an innovation has its share of challenges. Funding, an important component when working on a new technology of this type, is of course at the top of the list. Several partners have therefore been called upon to support this project, including the Center of Excellence in Energy Efficiency (C3E), Economic Development Canada, Sustainable Development Technologies Canada (SDTC), the Government of Quebec, the Société d’habitation du Quebec, Quebec City and Futurpreneur.
But other obstacles stood in the way of the entrepreneur. In Quebec, components installed in a building must be certified. However, no standard governed the system developed by RegenEAU, which therefore could not have it certified. The company then contributed to the development of a new North American standard, with the collaboration of the Standards Council of Canada (SCC). An exercise that took about six months and which now allows its solution to be marketed.
The company, which has its head office in Quebec and facilities in Lévis, is just entering the stage of industrialization and marketing. Starting in August, she will present her device in her technological showcase, a project funded by Vision entrepreneuriale Québec 2026, a program of the City of Québec.
Convince the industry
RegenEAU will try to attract real estate developers and mortgage brokerage, engineering and architectural firms, among others. One of the objectives will be to convince these players to integrate RegenEAU’s solution into new real estate projects from the outset.
Admittedly, the RegenEAU option costs more than traditional systems, but its installation can benefit from the support of certain assistance programs from Hydro-Québec or the ÉcoPerformance program, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. company greenhouse.
“For our part, we guarantee the achievement of profitability in less than five years,” adds David Pineault. We can track energy savings in real time using telemetry to credibly demonstrate our solution’s contribution to energy efficiency. »
This content was produced by the Special Publications team of the Duty, relating to marketing. The drafting of Duty did not take part.