production. These fluctuations lead to inability to harvest the condensate
continuously year round. On the other hand, in hot and
humid climates, latent load is large enough to produce a reasonable
amount of condensate throughout the year. Apart from climatic
conditions, important factors that determine whether condensate
collection should be a cost-effective venture include the amount of
outdoor air required, capacity, number and accessibility of AHUs
that condition outdoor air, location of end user for the condensate,
etc.
So far, little has been done in the field of energy recovery from
condensate. Namek [2] in 2005 raised a question whether the latent
load is large enough to produce a sufficient amount of condensate
for pre-cooling of outdoor air that is supplying another AHU. The
study which is carried out for different locations across the U.S.
showed that pre-cooling of the second airstream might be costeffective
if large amount of condensate is discharged from the first
air stream, and if the mass flow rate of the second air stream is
significantly lower. Also, it is suggested that this system would
be more attractive in locations where high wet bulb temperatures
occur year round.
Unlike energy saving strategies, more attention has been paid to
water sustainability features. Guz [3] reported that the San Antonio
central library produces 0.06 l/s or 163,500 l of condensate each
month from its air handlers, which is used for irrigation purposes.
The downtown Rivercenter Mall collects 946 l of condensate per
day, which is used to partially offset cooling tower water losses. It