Joulia

What Joulia does

Joulia SA is a Swiss manufacturer specializing in shower drains with integrated heat recovery. Founded as a 2007 project at Creaholic SA in Biel/Bienne and incorporated as an independent company (Joulia AG, later Joulia SA) in 2010, the company designs and produces the Joulia-Inline and Joulia-Twinline product lines. The core technology is a copper-tube heat exchanger embedded in a standard-height shower drain that captures thermal energy from warm wastewater to preheat incoming cold water, achieving up to 60% heat recovery efficiency. Product variants (3P, 5P, 6P, 10P) scale the number of copper tubes to match usage intensity from single-family bathrooms to commercial showers.

The company sells primarily through a sales-led, project-based direct model with personalized quotations, supplemented by plumbing trade partners (Sanitär) and relationships with architects and developers. Customers span single-family homeowners, multi-family building owners, hotels (e.g., Hotel Terrace Engelberg, Backpacker Villa Sonnenhof), sports and spa facilities (e.g., Sportanlage Waldegg Horgen), and premium architectural projects (e.g., Herzog & de Meuron's Hortus). The product is certified under SVGW, DVGW, KIWA, and WRAS, and is eligible for Swiss Minergie, SIA, and MuKEn sustainability frameworks; the company holds the Solar Impulse Efficient Solution Label and Swiss Excellence recognition.

The firm operates with ~10 employees from its headquarters in Biel-Bienne, is privately held with no disclosed external investors, and claims 10,000+ installations across Europe. Annual ancillary cost savings are cited at CHF 100-200 per residential unit with payback under 5 years; flagship multi-family deployments report total energy savings up to 25% and 85% winter self-sufficiency. Pricing is not publicly listed and is project-specific, with hardware sales as the primary revenue stream and installation-related professional services provided indirectly through plumber partners.

Name

Joulia

Legal name

Joulia SA

Website

https://joulia.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Joulia SA designs, manufactures, and sells shower drains with integrated heat recovery technology using copper tube heat exchangers, serving residential, hospitality, sports, and architectural clients in Europe through direct sales and plumbing trade partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Biel

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Shower Drain Hardware Sales: Sale of shower drains with integrated heat recovery technology. Products include Joulia-Inline and Joulia-Twinline models in various configurations (3P, 5P, 6P, 10P based on number of copper tubes). Prices are quoted based on project requirements, with transport costs of 3% of goods value (min. CHF 20).
2. Installation Services: Installation brochures and technical documentation provided. Installation performed by plumbers (Sanitär) following Joulia's guidelines. Company provides support and guidance during installation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Joulia designs and manufactures shower drains with integrated heat recovery technology. The products use copper tube heat exchangers to capture thermal energy from wastewater and preheat incoming cold water, achieving up to 60% heat recovery efficiency. The portfolio centers on the Joulia-Inline line (3P, 5P, 6P variants for residential and light commercial use) and the Joulia-Twinline line (10P for higher-demand commercial applications), with configurations including wall upstand, room-side, and exclusive floor coverings. All products install at the same height as conventional shower drains, serving both new construction and renovation projects across Europe.

Product overview

Joulia is a shower drain manufacturer specializing in heat recovery technology for showers. The product portfolio centers on the Joulia-Inline and Joulia-Twinline product lines, each available in multiple variants differentiated by the number of copper heat-exchanger tubes (3P, 5P, 6P, and 10P configurations). The Inline series is the classic single-shower drain offering available in wall-upstand, room-side, and exclusive-floor-covering variants, while the Twinline series is the higher-performance, more robust line with integrated installation for demanding commercial applications. All products recover thermal energy from wastewater to preheat incoming cold water, achieving up to 60% efficiency. Supporting offerings include leakage detectors, hair sieves, and an Excel-based energy savings calculator. The products serve residential (single-family homes, apartments) and commercial segments (hotels, sports facilities, hostels).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Joulia-Inline The classic Joulia shower drain with integrated heat recovery for single shower installations. Features a heat exchanger that recovers thermal energy from wastewater to preheat incoming cold water. Available in 3P, 5P, and 6P configurations (3, 5, or 6 copper tubes) and installation variants including wall upstand, room-side, and exclusive floor coverings, serving residential new construction and renovation projects.
• Joulia-Twinline High-performance, more robust shower drain line designed for higher usage or demanding commercial applications. Features integrated installation and cover, with the 10P configuration (10 copper tubes) delivering maximum heat recovery efficiency. Used in commercial settings such as hotels, sports facilities, and high-demand multi-shower installations where maximum energy savings are required.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 60% heat recovery efficiency
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• CreaHollic SAflagshipOthers · 1 January 2007Innovation house where Joulia originated in 2007. CreaHollic SA in Biel was the birthplace of the company before it became independent Joulia AG in 2010.
• Klimastiftung Schweiz (Climate Foundation Switzerland)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClimate Foundation Switzerland was an early supporter of Joulia, recognizing and promoting their measurable contribution to climate protection through heat recovery technology.
• Herzog & de MeuronflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerHerzog & de Meuron selected Joulia for their groundbreaking Hortus project, which implements circular economy principles using clay, wood, and recycled paper. The project uses 10P Joulia drains combined with instantaneous heaters in 7 shower spaces.
• Raiffeisenbank PensionskassecoreOthersRaiffeisenbank's pension fund commissioned the Arborea sustainable rental property project achieving Minergie-P-Eco certification, incorporating Joulia 3P drains as part of the energy-efficient design.
• Hotz PartnercoreOthersArchitecture firm Hotz Partner implemented Joulia technology in the Waldegg sports facility. Daniel Gardi (owner) and Daniel Vega (Architecture Lead) have promoted the solution, with Vega installing it in his own home.
• Stäheli Architektur GmbHminorOthersArchitecture firm that designed the Einfamilienhaus Hagenbuch renovation project, integrating Joulia-Inline 3P drains with heat pump and PV systems.
• Küng Holzbau AGminorOthersWood construction company that built the Einfamilienhaus Hirzel project, harmonizing Joulia installation with modern architecture.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• ORCA Innovation / Heatpipe / Heat-Wave: Dutch manufacturer of shower-drain heat recovery systems (Heat-Wave / ecoShower) — the most direct European competitor, selling a near-identical wastewater-to-cold-water pre-heating product through plumbing wholesalers and installers.
• Easy Drain (by Easy Sanitary Solutions): Specialist shower-drain and linear-drain brand selling into the same bathroom installer and architect channels as Joulia. Its decorative, low-build-height channels are frequently compared against Joulia where heat recovery is not specified.
• Dallmer: German specialist in shower drains, shower channels and building drainage. Dallmer's product range overlaps directly with Joulia's Inline/Twinline channels and is the closest comparable on form factor and on shower-channel design specifications.

Broad incumbents

• Geberit: Swiss-listed market leader in sanitary technology (plumbing, piping, bathroom systems). Geberit competes with Joulia via its broad shower drainage and installation system portfolio, and has the R&D and channel power to launch an integrated heat-recovery shower channel if it chooses.
• ACO: German-headquartered manufacturer of drainage systems, including shower channels and linear drains. ACO is a competitor in the conventional shower-drain category where Joulia also plays, with global distribution Joulia lacks.
• Viega: Major European plumbing-systems manufacturer active in drain technology, piping and installation systems used in the same residential and commercial building projects that Joulia targets, with far broader capital and channel resources.
• TECE: European provider of installation systems, drainage and pre-wall plumbing. TECE is a frequent alternative to Joulia at the architectural specification stage, with established relationships across Minergie-style certified housing.
• Hansgrohe / Axor: Premium German shower and bathroom fittings brand. While Hansgrohe sells at the shower-head/tap level, it actively shapes European bathroom specification and could integrate drain-side efficiency features that compete with Joulia.

Others

• KlimaActive / Heat Recovery Ventilation vendors: Not direct competitors but adjacent: Swiss building-energy and ventilation heat-recovery vendors (e.g., Zehnder, Stiebel Eltron) are often specified alongside Joulia in Minergie/MuKEn-compliant buildings — a relevant adjacent ecosystem for distribution or partnership.

Emerging players

• Wirquin: European bathroom and shower-drain specialist with a comparable product breadth in shower channels/wastes. Comparable on product category and distribution (plumbers, DIY retail), though without Joulia's heat-recovery differentiation.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC7UcvUGPDbtdjgLAkeBr99A
• Facebookfacebook.com/JouliaSA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/joulia
• Instagraminstagram.com/joulia_switzerland
• Xx.com/Joulia_SA

Compliance8 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Joulia