With expectations rising from universities and energy regulations tightening, purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) developers need measures that meet exacting energy-efficiency standards and, ideally, deliver revenue savings for the building operator.
Zypho specialises in waste-water heat recovery (WWHR). Our vertical and horizontal systems consistently help purpose-built student accommodation achieve higher performance by targeting one of the biggest and most predictable loads in PBSA: hot water for showers.
Student schemes have unique dynamics.
With increasing numbers of en-suite bathrooms and students taking frequent showers without regard to the bills incurred, the cost of domestic hot water (DHW) accounts for a large share of total energy use.
Zypho offers a route to massively increase the energy efficiency of hot water use and generate correspondingly large savings. Moreover, when designed in from the start, it is a minimal addition to the works required.
How it works
Zypho WWHR units capture heat from shower wastewater that would otherwise go straight down the drain, and use it to pre-warm the incoming cold feed to the shower or hot-water system. This simple, passive exchange reduces the fresh hot water required, improving system efficiency, cutting energy use and carbon.
Student accommodation is an excellent fit for this approach.
WWHR Solutions
Stacked en-suites and cluster flats usually involve vertical risers, which are ideal for our vertical PiPe range. The PiPe65 (approx. 1.6 m) and our sector-leading PiPe75 (approx. 2.0 m) fit neatly alongside soil stacks in multi-storey buildings. If the Pipe75 is fitted, one can achieve shower heat-recovery efficiencies of up to 82%.
For refurbishments or layouts without vertical opportunities, Zypho provides innovative horizontal solutions. The Slim50 and iZi30 models can both sit beneath shower trays or serve shower-over-bath scenarios, bringing the same principle to space-constrained or retrofit contexts.
Vertical solutions
Horizontal solutions
Horizontal solutions
All Zypho WWHR systems are passive, with no moving parts, no pumps, no electrical connections and no maintenance.
The reliability of Zypho WWHR solutions is important in high-occupancy, high-turnover buildings where access and time are limited.
Because PBSA often houses hundreds of showers, the benefits compound quickly. Frequent, often long showers increase the amount of recoverable energy compared with typical single-family usage, boosting both carbon savings and SAP improvements at the building scale. Building operators see the effect in reduced hot water loads and lower utility costs. Revenue savings of ~£100-£150 / en-suite shower per year are not uncommon and naturally aggregate across the whole building, yielding tens of thousands of pounds in annual savings.
For developers, installation is straightforward. With a highly attractive cost-per-SAP-point compared with many renewables or deep building fabric changes, Zypho WWHR provides a very strong “bang per buck”.
Beyond this, there is a potential knock-on bonus for developers in the shape of reduced hot water demand. Lower HW demand means smaller HW storage requirements and thus a smaller HW generation capacity. Reducing the size of tanks, boilers, and heat pumps can save significant capital on a project and go a long way toward paying for the heat recovery technology.
