Sustainability Assessment of Harvesting Rainwater and Air-Conditioning Condensate Water in Multi-Family Residential Buildings under Various Conditions in Israel—A Simulation Study

Tamar Opher and Eran Friedler ()
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Tamar Opher: Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200000, Israel
Eran Friedler: Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200000, Israel

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 19, 1-20

Abstract: The environmental impacts and water savings of different configurations of non-potable domestic water use (toilet flushing and laundry), sourced from rainwater harvesting (RWH) and air-conditioning condensate water (ACWH), in multi-family buildings in Israel are examined. Two building types differing in specific roof areas, and three climatic sub-regions were modeled. RWH satisfied 23 and 46% of the water demand for toilet flushing and laundry in high-rise and low-rise buildings, respectively. Air conditioning is used almost daily during Israel’s hot and dry summers. Hence, the combined RWH-ACWH system saved 42 and 64% in high- and low-rise buildings, respectively. Displacing desalinated seawater, a significant water source in Israel, with alternative water sources lowered the environmental impacts with an increase in storage, up to a certain volume, beyond which impacts started rising. The same infrastructure is used during winter for RWH and for ACWH during summer; thus, combining the two exhibits significant water savings, with marginal extra costs while lowering the environmental impacts.

Keywords: sustainability; LCA; rainwater harvesting; air-conditioning condensate water; alternative water sources (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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