Showersave Webinar Recap: Unlocking the Power of Waste Water Heat Recovery
Showersave recently hosted an insightful webinar led by Cameron Loggenberg, offering a deep dive into Waste Water Heat Recovery Systems (WWHRS) and their growing importance in low-carbon housing.
Here’s a full recap of the key takeaways.
Introducing Showersave
Showersave is a specialist in passive Waste Water Heat Recovery Systems (WWHRS), dedicated to reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions in residential and commercial buildings.
Our technology captures heat from shower waste water and reuses it to preheat incoming cold water, significantly lowering the energy required to produce hot water. Today, Showersave continues to deliver proven, cost-effective solutions that help developers, housebuilders and homeowners meet increasingly demanding energy performance standards.
What is Waste Water Heat Recovery?
WWHR is fast becoming essential in the homes of the future. As buildings become more thermally efficient, domestic hot water (DHW) is now the dominant energy load predicted to account for over 50% of household energy use under the UK Future Homes Standard.
WWHR works through a counterflow heat exchanger, capturing energy from warm waste water flowing down the drain during a shower. This heat is transferred to incoming cold water, preheating it before it reaches the shower or hot water system.
Showersave Multivert
Showersave Blue QB1-21XE
Showersave QB1-21XE
Why It Matters
One of the standout points from the webinar was the synergy between WWHR and low-carbon heating systems, particularly air source heat pumps (ASHPs).
Heat pumps are highly efficient for space heating but less so when producing high-temperature hot water. Without WWHR, systems often rely on inefficient electric immersion heaters to meet demand.
Showersave solves this by preheating incoming water from around 10°C to as much as 30°C, reducing hot water energy demand by up to 47% and helping avoid immersion heater use altogether.
Performance That Delivers
The Showersave QB1-21XE was highlighted as a high-performance, practical solution designed for real-world application.
- With efficiency of up to 70.6%, it delivers:
- Up to 47% reduction in shower hot water energy use
- Around £200 annual household savings
- Improved SAP and DER/TER performance
- Lower overall building energy demand
It also offers one of the lowest costs per SAP point improvement, making it especially attractive for developers balancing performance and cost.
A Truly Passive Solution
Unlike many low-carbon technologies, the QB1-21XE operates with:
- No electricity
- No moving parts
- No maintenance
This “fit-and-forget” approach ensures long-term reliability while delivering immediate energy savings without requiring any behavioural change from occupants.
Supporting the UK Energy System
The benefits of WWHR extend beyond individual homes. As the UK moves towards electrification, peak energy demand is expected to rise significantly.
Because showering typically occurs during peak periods (morning and evening), reducing this load has a meaningful impact. Widespread adoption of WWHR could reduce UK peak heating demand by around 5 GW by 2050, easing pressure on the national grid.
Who Benefits?
WWHR provides value across the entire housing lifecycle:
For developers and housebuilders:
- Proven performance with over 120,000 UK installations
- Improved DER, TPER and SAP outcomes
- Low-risk, cost-effective route to compliance
For homeowners:
- Around £200 annual energy savings
- Lower running costs in electrified homes
- Reduced risk of fuel poverty
It also enables smaller hot water cylinders, freeing up valuable space in modern homes.
Designed for Easy Installation
The QB1-21XE has been engineered with simplicity in mind. Its compact vertical design integrates easily into standard drainage stacks without impacting layout or aesthetics.
Key benefits include:
- Quick, straightforward installation
- Minimal coordination between trades
- Reduced risk of errors
Installers are supported by the Showersave App, which provides step-by-step guidance, technical documentation, and geotagged photo verification for compliance.
Measurable Sustainability Impact
Each QB1-21XE unit delivers tangible environmental benefits, including:
- 181–270 kg CO₂e saved annually
- Equivalent to planting 10–15 trees per year
- Lifetime impact comparable to 200–300 trees
With no maintenance and a long lifespan, the system provides consistent, low-impact performance over time.
Certified and Proven
The QB1-21XE is fully certified and independently validated, including:
- SAP recognition since 2008
- Passive House (A-rated) certification
- KIWA and WRAS approval
- Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)
- PCDB and SBEM listing
This ensures confidence in both compliance and performance.
Webinar Q&A Highlights
The session concluded with a practical Q&A, addressing real-world installation and design questions:
- Flexible installation: Systems can be installed in one configuration and adapted later to suit upgraded heating systems.
- Maintenance: The QB1-21XE is self-cleaning and requires no ongoing maintenance.
- Installation flexibility: Units can be installed in various locations to suit the project build design.
- Multiple showers: A single system can serve back-to-back bathrooms efficiently.
- Fast performance: Heat recovery begins within 10–15 seconds of starting a shower.
- System efficiency: Type A configurations are most efficient as all water benefits from recovered heat.
- Heat pump optimisation: Preheating water significantly reduces the workload on heat pumps, improving overall system performance.
Looking Ahead
As building regulations tighten and the push toward net-zero accelerates, reducing energy demand at source is becoming critical.
Showersave offers a simple, proven solution that enhances the performance of all other low-carbon technologies making it a key component in the homes of the future.