Sustainable Living in Grimbergen – Belgium
In 2019, David Mertens and his two children moved into their newly built home in Grimbergen, Belgium—a home designed with sustainability at its core. As a project developer at Durabrik, David was directly involved in the planning of the residential project and made the conscious decision to live in one of the homes himself.
“When I was developing the project, I knew I wanted to push sustainability further than regulations required. In Flanders, rainwater recovery is mandatory for new homes, but we wanted to do more—so we added water recycling with Hydraloop.”
David combined Hydraloop’s greywater recycling system with rainwater harvesting, connecting all possible drains to either rainwater or recycled Hydraloop water. The result? His household now uses an average of just 13 liters of tap water per person per day—a fraction of the typical consumption. Tap water is reserved only for essentials like drinking, handwashing, and the dishwasher.
The system integrates seamlessly with his home’s other sustainable technologies, including solar PV panels and an air-water heat pump for heating and electricity.
“My experience has been very positive. The Hydraloop team has been extremely customer-oriented and proactive—especially important in our case, as integrating the system with rainwater added some complexity.”
By combining smart energy and water solutions, David’s home is a blueprint for sustainable urban living in Belgium.
