You are on page 1of 13

DIY – AIRCONDITIONING WASTE WATER RECOVERY

Ronald R. Stiffler1
1
Senior Scientist, Stiffler Scientific, Humble, Texas, USA
DrStiffler@embarqmail.com

Abstract---This paper covers the results of a project conducted by Dr. Ronald Stiffler in
which otherwise discarded water obtained from the humidity reduction process in
residential air conditioning systems was diverted, captured and used in non-potable
applications.

I Introduction

Because of the constantly increasing price and scarcity of water and a growing
Conservation and Green awareness sweeping many parts of the globe a question arose
during one of Dr. Stifflers water research projects; ‘Why is the recovered water from
residential air conditioning units being discarded into sewer systems’?

Water rates in many areas of the United States have reached and in many cases equal to
or exceed energy costs. This can be seen specifically in areas switching from ground to
surface water sources. Along with these environmental factors is the added cost of
delivery, quality, maintenance and security.

Coupled with all of the above reasons it must be understood that City, State and Federal
government's have found water to be a deep pocket money source, which can
be continually tapped for money to fund all forms of programs and endeavors.

The end user price for one thousand gallons of water in many areas of the United States is
now exceeding the cost of one-kilowatt of electricity. In the area in which Dr. Stiffler
conducted this project, water for the test residence cost approximately $12.60 per
thousand gallons for the water, which included additional fees from Municipal Utility
District (MUD), and RWA (Rural Water Authority) fees and bond payoffs, while one-
kilowatt of electricity cost $0.14.

Water is essential for life as we understand it and places the consumer and provider at
odds because of the delicate balance required between profit and survival.

II The Project

© 2005-2009 Dr. Ronald Stiffler


All rights reserved worldwide
Rel: 2.1 5.09
This research project is only applicable to areas, which require air conditioning for at
least eight months of each year, and have an average Relative Humidity in excess of
45%.

This project was broken up into four specific areas as listed in the following.

1) Construct and evaluate a system for capturing the normally discarded water produced
by home air conditioning systems resulting from humidity reduction during the cooling
cycle.

2) Determine the average number of gallons (liters) that may be removed and recovered
in an average 30-day cooling period.

3) Determine the cost of an average system installation and the required payback time
period at which the recovered water could be considered free.

The project worked with two air conditioning units as indicated in the following;

1ea. Trane 3 Ton, Model 2TTR2-036


1ea. Trane 2.5 Ton, Model 2TTR2-030

The total area cooled by the two air conditioning units was 3000 ft2 (679.6 m3), 3000 ft2.
/5.5tons = 545.46 ft2 (123.6 m3), per air-conditioning ton.

The following pictures and text cover various configurations and results obtained from
the research.

Each test A/C unit has two water output connections on the evaporator units; 1) An
overflow connection, should the drain line become plugged, 2) the water output
connection to the drain line. The following labeled picture shows the water connections
on the project 3-ton unit. For some reason, known only to the A/C installation personnel,
the project units overflow output is plugged.

© 2005-2009 Dr. Ronald Stiffler


All rights reserved worldwide
Rel: 2.1 5.09
Water output connections on the projects 3-ton unit

Fig: 1

It is noted that each drain line is 3/4" PVC and the two units drain lines join into a
common 3/4" PVC line normally running straight to a sewer drainpipe.

© 2005-2009 Dr. Ronald Stiffler


All rights reserved worldwide
Rel: 2.1 5.09
Fig: 2

Not shown, but to the left in Fig: 2, is where the two A/C units 3/4" drain lines are joined
into a single 3/4" drain line labeled "A/C drain source lines".

A tee and two valves were added to the existing A/C drain line; [1] Sewer drain shutoff
(allowing for an easy return to the original configuration where all recovered water would
drain into the sewer system), [2] Exterior feed line shutoff. The logic behind the two
valve installation is based on maintaining property value should the property be sold and
the 'Water Recover System' is not wanted by the new owner. In this case the valves can
be configured so that the prior installation is easily returned and all external equipment
can be disconnected, removed and disposed of without the removal of any piping in the
attic.

The feed line from the A/C units was 3/4" PVC and a 3/4" X 3/4" X 1/2" Tee was added.
A small extension 3/4" length of PVC was added to a 3/4" Ball Valve going to the sewer
drain. Off of the 1/2" tap of the Tee a 1/2" Ball Valve was added between the Tee and the
exterior feed line.

The ½” exterior feed ran to the edge of the roof where it joined a 90’ angle to exit the
home.

© 2005-2009 Dr. Ronald Stiffler


All rights reserved worldwide
Rel: 2.1 5.09
Fig: 3

Once the drain line exits, various methods can be employed to handle the water, ranging
from very simple gravity fed disbursement to more sophisticated storage and pumping.

For the purpose of the research project the first method employed was to store the water
in a tank so that it could be measured against time. This required a tank and a measuring
system as indicated in the following images.

© 2005-2009 Dr. Ronald Stiffler


All rights reserved worldwide
Rel: 2.1 5.09
Fig: 4

Figure (4) shows a recovery storage tank before the addition of a Ball Valve at the
bottom, which allowed for controlled drainage.

The storage tank was a RubberMaid Company [3], RoughneckTM [4] 50 gallon.,
wheeled (wheels not shown), yard trash bin purchased at a local Wal-Mart Super Store.
This storage container was selected because of capacity and cost. As seen in the photo an
air vent pipe (top left) was added along with an inlet (top right) that connected to a 1/2"
clear plastic hose, which in turn connected to the feed line from the A/C units.

At the bottom of the tank an outlet was fashioned from ½” PVC couplings and shown
plugged with a ½” plug.

It should be noted that all pipefittings required holes in the basic tank that did not have
these holes at purchase. To cut the holes a steady hand and sharp knife is all that was
required. The fittings were held in place by glued sleeves (pipe couplings) on the interior
side of the tank.

Fig: 5

© 2005-2009 Dr. Ronald Stiffler


All rights reserved worldwide
Rel: 2.1 5.09
In figure (5) you can see the measuring system that was added to the collection tank. At
the bottom of the tank a Tee was added on the left side and fed a ball valve used to drain
the tank, while the right side went into a 90’ which had mounted a clear plastic hose of
½” inner diameter. Fastened to this clear hose a wood yardstick graduated in both mm/cm
and inches/feet.

The parts cost for the research system was $92 for materials that are easily available at
most home improvement centers. The time to install the modified drain system, cut and
install valves, run pipe to the building exterior and assemble the collection and
measurement system took approximately 5.5 hours.

Because labor costs vary widely, project labor cost was set at $50 per hour, resulting in
an installation cost of (5.5 X 50) or $275. Adding this to the cost of the pipe, valves and
tank, gives a total cost of ($92 + $275) or $367.

Using a price for water of ($12.60 per 1000 gallons or 3,785 liters) the calculated
payback would be ([$367 / 12.60] X 1000) or 29,130 gallons.

With Advanced Cooling Systems combined with intelligent control systems such as the
Lennox SignatureStat [2], under ideal conditions can produce in excess of 285 liters (75+
gallons) per day. Using the 285 liters per day and assuming 365 days of cooling, we get
(285 X 365) or 104,000 liters per year under idea conditions and daily usage. Dividing
(110,300L / 104,000L) supplies the required recovery period of 1.061 years.

The Air-Conditioning Industry [2] and various experts [1] indicated a somewhat lower
hourly output from that used in this paper.

Using the ideal conditions just calculated a residence would be receiving free water in the
amount of 29,130 gallons a year after the first year. Of course this is ideal in that it can
vary depending upon the local relative humidity, the length of the cooling period and the
overall efficiency of the air-conditioning system in removing the humidity from the air
being cooled, which is a function of Dew Point and evaporator temperature.
© 2005-2009 Dr. Ronald Stiffler
All rights reserved worldwide
Rel: 2.1 5.09
III Water Handling

Understand that the system is gravity fed, the simplest of systems would be to connect a
hose to the outlet and run it into a flowerbed or other desired close location. One needs to
insure that the flowerbed is large enough to absorb the water without harm to the plants
from over watering.

Fig: 6

© 2005-2009 Dr. Ronald Stiffler


All rights reserved worldwide
Rel: 2.1 5.09
Figure (6) shows a standard garden hose connected to a matching fitting on the drainpipe
and running a short distance to a flower garden. This is the simplest of all installations.

The next method is the storage of collected water, which would allow dispensing when
desired or needed. The following images show some of the storage methods used
throughout the continuation of the project.

The first method used to store the water is seen in Fig: 4 and was primarily used to allow
collection and measurement. A problem was found with the converted RubberMaid [3]
Trash Container [4] in that it is not designed for the weight that is present when filled
with water, which exceeds 400 pounds. The container should not be considered for a
working system because of this fact.

Fig: 7

Figure (7) shows a small storage system that was constructed from 4” PVC pipe. At the
bottom a tee was used to couple to a short 4” section that contained a 12 volt submersible
water pump. Two sensor electrodes were placed in the vertical holding tank to detect and
turn the pump on when the tank contained approximately 7-8 liters of water.

Although this tank and method appears to be less intrusive when property restrictions
may apply, it suffered from a number of problems.
© 2005-2009 Dr. Ronald Stiffler
All rights reserved worldwide
Rel: 2.1 5.09
Figure (8) shows the necessary electronic control that was needed to turn the pump on
when the sensor electrodes detected water. The circuit was required to have a build in
‘On’ delay so that the switch and pump did not oscillate between off and on during peak
water collection.

The connection from the pump to the exit hose did not include a check valve and as such
would gravity drain the tank if the exit hose were not elevated above the sensor
electrodes. The elevation of the exit hose also caused additional stress on the small pump
because it not had to provide extra lift.

Fig: 8

Figure (8) shows the control circuit and the waterproof Sprinkler Control System Box
that was used to house it.

In an attempt to simplify the operation and requirements of a pumped system the


components of Fig: 7-8 were removed and the vertical tank was replaced with an 8-gallon
plastic pail with a lid. The pail was outfitted with the necessary inlet connection and a 12-
volt Bilge pump with Float Switch was mounted in the pail.

© 2005-2009 Dr. Ronald Stiffler


All rights reserved worldwide
Rel: 2.1 5.09
This configuration had one major problem and that was due to the 3-amperes of current
required which required a fairly large external power supply. Although this approach
could be handled with a solar panel for charging a battery to run the pump, this idea was
not tested.

What was found and can serve, as a dual-purpose system is a tank designed for water
retention, and is a 50-gallon Rain Barrel [6] and was purchased at Northern Tool
Company [5]. This tank comes with build in hose connections, hoses and a drainage
valve. The tank is designed for the weight of the water and has two overflow controls and
it must be mentioned that the tank also has a build in washable filter to keep large foreign
matter from entering the tank.

What is so nice about this tank is that it can double as its intended purpose (Rain Barrel)
and a holding tank for the recovered A/C water. The tank is a total gravity drain system
and the instructions with the tank explain how to mount the tank to allow better drainage
on other than flat areas at or below the tank elevation.

Fig: 9

It may not be practical in all case to use the tank as a dual-purpose collector because of
the locations of down spouts from guttering systems, nevertheless this tank was found to
be ideal for the recovery system.
© 2005-2009 Dr. Ronald Stiffler
All rights reserved worldwide
Rel: 2.1 5.09
After about a year and one-half of operation the test system developed a problem with
drainage from the air conditioner output line. As it turned out the air conditioner was
serviced and a number of minor air leaks were sealed with a standard aluminum tape
placed over the leaks. What resulted was that the drain could not handle large volumes of
recover water, as it was unable to draw in enough air.

Placing a Tee in the outlet from the A/C water line and installing a vertical air intake line
of about 18” in length solved this problem. This was done with both A/C units. The
vertical pipe must be long enough to insure that it will never fill and overflow or at least
insure that the pipe is mounted above the overflow pan to insure damage will never result
to the structure.

IV Summary

The water recover from this type of collection system is NOT POTABLE which
means it should NEVER be used for Human or Animal consumption. This water is
only suitable for ALMOST all type of vegetation. Never try filtering this water for
Human or Animal consumption, as it would take a qualified laboratory to
determine its continued safety.

This system is still in use today and was placed in operation in 2005. The water output is
sufficient to water medium sized flowerbeds, sections of a small garden and three citrus
trees.

It is without doubt that this is a wasted resource and should be implemented by those
qualified to do so and done in all systems where the benefit will exceed the cost and
provide a payback in a year or less.

© 2005-2009 Dr. Ronald Stiffler


All rights reserved worldwide
Rel: 2.1 5.09
References

[1] Various air conditioning experts and equipment manufactures state that the
Traditional non-variable or single speed A/C units remove on average 5.68 liters (1.5
gallons) of water vapor per hour, while variable speed systems remove 8.04 liters (2.125
gallons) per hour.

Jimmy West A/C, http://www.jimmiewest.com/sig_stat.htm

ASHRAE, http://www.ashrae.org/template/AssetDetail?assetid=20750

J.P. Timmerman Co., http://www.johnptimmermanco.com/details.php?IDnum=45

[2] Lennox Company, SignatureStatTM Control for advanced cooling systems.


http://www.lennox.com/products/overview.asp?model=SIGSTAT

[3] The RubberMaid Company


http://www.rubbermaid.com/rubbermaid/product/parentCategory.jhtml?pCat=HPCat1005
27

[4] RubberMaid 50 gallon Trash Container,


http://www.rubbermaid.com/rubbermaid/product/category.jhtml?cat=HPCat280072

[5] Northern Tool Company, http://www.northerntool.com/

[6] Suncast Rain Barrel — 50-Gallon Capacity, Model# RB5010PK

© 2005-2009 Dr. Ronald Stiffler


All rights reserved worldwide
Rel: 2.1 5.09

You might also like