HVAC Cooling Condensate Recovery Applications
Todd Mowinski, Newcomb
& Boyd
This poster will explore the various methods of recovering condensate
from cooling coils. As warm, humid air is drawn across cooling coils
in air handling units, the moisture in the air condenses out of
the air stream and is collected at the bottom of the unit in a drain
pan. Traditionally, this condensate is simply piped to the sanitary
drain system and is lost. Collecting this water can save hundreds
of thousands of gallons of water every year in a typical lab building
for an acceptable first cost. An ideal use for this collected water
is cooling tower make-up. As the cooling tower operates, water evaporates
at a substantial rate. In most systems, this water is made up by
adding water from the domestic water system. By simply adding some
additional piping, storage tanks, and pumps, the collected water
from the cooling coils can be used in lieu of the domestic water
system during most of the cooling cycle. The poster will first outline
the calculations required to determine the amount of condensate
generated in a building using temperature bin data and then will
discuss physical arrangement of the systems, equipment required,
life-cycle costs, and control strategies and operation. The poster
will stress the significant amount of water that is traditionally
lost compared to the relatively simple and inexpensive strategies
for recovery. Other uses of this collected water will also be discussed,
such as toilet water make-up and landscape irrigation.
Findings:
The poster will compare two systems with different design solutions
with respect to the architectural constraints. These two options
will illustrate the different design challenges unique to each from
a first cost, energy cost, life cycle cost and maintenance standpoint.
The poster will show that the location of the equipment involved
(cooling towers and cooling coils) has a substantial impact on system
design.
The poster will also discuss how using the equipment provided with
every cooling tower (water sensing probes, cooling tower basin)
can be used in a unique way to reduce additional equipment and controls
required for the recovery system.
Labs21 Connection:
The condensate recovery system will address several principles
of the Labs21 Approach to laboratory design. The life-cycle cost
of the relatively small amount of additional equipment required
versus the water efficiency of the building will show that this
system is an attractive option for almost all building types. The
system and building will be commissioned. The system also employs
water flow meter technology to allow the users to quantify the amount
of water saved by the condensate recovery system compared to the
amount of water used by the traditional domestic water system. The
building may achieve a LEED™ innovation point for the condensate
recovery system.
Biography:
Todd Mowinski earned his Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering
degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1997. During
his seven years with Newcomb & Boyd, he has developed particular
expertise in the design of mechanical systems for laboratory and
research facilities. Todd's experience includes laboratory projects
for Emory University, Tulane University, and University of North
Carolina. His work totals more than 600 thousand square feet and
over 100 million dollars in construction value.
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