By Martin Vedris in Shunde
SHUNDE, CHINA: At the 2008 Shunde Expo, Panasonic was showing a new and highly effective bathroom heater and fan combination, and another company invented a way to recycle the heat from water while giving a foot massage.
Panasonic was showing a limited range of bathroom products at the Shunde Show. One of which was a bathroom fan and heater that had to be felt to be believed. The product was installed in a small booth, the size of a standard shower cubicle. The heat from this bathroom heater was impressive. It almost turned the shower booth into a sauna, and it worked instantly.
Another interesting product was a platform that is placed on the floor of the shower recess. It has a plastic mat on top of a special metal reservoir. The metal reservoir collects the heat from the hot water going down the drain and uses this heat to warm up the water coming out of the shower head.
How does it work? Water coming into the shower is first circulated through the metal reservoir which partially warms the water before it goes back through the hot water heat tank or through the instant ‘urn-like’ wall-mounted hot water heaters that are popular in China.
The company claims up to a 45 per cent energy saving. And it also gives a vibrating foot massage.