From waste heat to domestic hot water; A sustainable and financially viable solution?

Modern waste management facilities that combust waste to generate domestic hot water or electricity are more sustainable than landfilling but not necessarily more viable. Space limitations and advances in sorting waste before burning it may financially justify the construction of waste combustion facilities. In addition, building small-scale incinerators close to demand centres (e.g., homes) can provide a resilient option compared to centralized systems. This study aims to financially assess the use of an incinerator to provide domestic hot water for homes. First, data regarding hot water consumption in homes is collected through a survey. The collected data is compiled with national data to generalize the results. Once we know the hot water demand, a cost-production model is developed to assess the cost of hot water supply for an incinerator that combusts wood, rubber, and plastic waste. The incinerator used in this study has a water-cooled structure that allows for building the facility in the proximity of the demand centre. In addition, this smokeless incinerator is equipped with high-pressure air to attain the highest achievable efficiency in the market. The cost per gallon of supplying hot water is compared to the cost of using traditional power options such as gas and electricity and the cost of disposing waste in a landfill combined. The results of the study determine the required amounts of waste per household and the financial viability of using waste management facilities to provide domestic hot water.