Energy saving shower technology

Is it possible to re-use the energy of the draining water in the shower to save energy while showering?

How it all began..

Joulia started life as a Creaholic incubation project. The main driver for this project was the fact that in modern homes most of the energy is used for heating water. 50-80% of the total hot water usage is for taking showers, where it goes straight down the drain. This is a huge waste of energy!

Our idea was to massively reduce the energy requirements for showers by recovering thermal energy from the warm waste water and using it to preheat the incoming cold water. We wanted to build a product that fulfils a whole set of interrelated criteria, including:

  • High-efficiency energy recovery

  • Attractive design that fits different decors

  • Durability and small dimensions

  • Ease of installation and cleaning

  • Conformation to relevant regulations

  • Appropriate price, so that the cost can be amortized in an acceptable time

The first solutions were built..

Joulia SA was spun off in July 2010 to commercialize the product. The first product we developed was a shower tray with a heat exchanger integrated into the floor. It launched in 2012. Due to market response and feedback we developed a second technology, first presented 2014 and launched in 2016.

This second-generation technology is a heat exchanger module that can be integrated into the shower drain channel, or sold to other sanitary OEMs to use in their own products.

The result was a reduction of more than 40% in the energy needed to take a shower.

Where Joulia is now

The first product generated a lot of attention in the media world; Joulia won several prices including the 2013 “Watt d’Or” prize given by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy. Even before its official launch, the Joulia-Inline product won the 2015/2016 Design Prize Switzerland. Global sanitary companies, including Laufen Bathrooms and Duscholux, have implemented the Joulia-Inline technology in their products.

In July 2020, a strategic partnership with Wieland, a leading global player in the supply of semi-finished copper and copper alloy products, has been announced. For more information visit the Joulia website here.

Pascale Bruderer Wyss

Former Swiss National Council

«Joulia is a wonderful example of Cleantech made in Switzerland.»

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Creaholic SA
Rue Centrale 115
2503 Biel/Bienne
Switzerland
T +41 32 366 64 44

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