INTERNATIONAL NEWS 7
AC condensate – flushing toilets in the UK
Two directors of a UK building services company have launched the world’ s first cistern that uses condensate from air-conditioning units to flush the toilets.
Graham Kelly and David Davis of the Leeds-based G & H Group have created Encore( Environmental Condensate Recovery), which is described as the most environmentally friendly cistern available, as it uses a free, sustainable water supply that until now has been drained to waste.
G & H Group
Based on data, with 15 119 rooms in 114 hotels currently being built in the UK, the company says that using Encore would save the average hotel 1.92 million litres a year. And the water savings are even higher in hotter climates where more condensate is generated.
The Encore cistern has been designed to use the condensate from air-conditioning units to flush toilets.
In the US, the 1 477 hotels currently in construction would save 4.7 billion litres of water a year and 2.4 billion litres for the 302 hotels in the Middle East, the company maintains.
Davis says,“ For decades we’ ve designed and installed schemes and watched the stream of water produced by air-conditioning units literally go down the drain, but not via the toilet.” Encore can be used globally and is said to be ideal for those building and refurbishing hotels, villas, apartments, offices, and anywhere with toilets and air conditioning.
The patented technology means the amount of water used in each flush is adjustable from 6 – 1.5l to meet different international requirements. Encore holds 18l of water, which is three times more than a conventional cistern, but its dual-chamber design means it still fits like standard models. The bottom chamber holds 6l, which comes from the mains pipe. The upper 12l chamber is filled with air-conditioning condensate.
When the toilet is flushed, the lower chamber empties and refills with condensate from the upper chamber. If there are multiple flushes close together or when the air conditioning is not in use, the cistern is filled in the conventional way from the mains fed pipe. If the toilet is not used for a while, surplus condensate is fed away. PA
www. plumbingafrica. co. za October 2017 Volume 23 I Number 8