PULSED POWER TECHNOLOGY [Alternative Process Water Treatment] Intent: Reduce the impact of potentially hazardous chemical discharges to the environment by eliminating conventional means of process water treatment in HVAC equipment. Reduce amount of water consumption from conventional recirculating water systems such as cooling towers, hydronic HVAC systems, or process water systems by decreasing the need for make-up water caused by evaporation and system blowdown (or bleed). Requirements: Provide an integral chemical-free water treatment technology in place of conventional water treatment which uses potentially toxic chemicals which may also produce potentially hazardous chemical byproducts. Provide documentation in the form of a letter from the project engineer that includes a narrative description of the chemical-free water treatment system used and how the system works. The narrative shall specifically state the environmental benefits of using the chemical-free process in place of the conventional chemical water treatment system; state specific chemicals and their estimated quantities eliminated by substituting the chemical-free process; state the methods and quantities of process water discharge as an estimate of potential water savings. Rationale: Recirculating water systems used in building mechanical processes such as HVAC heat rejection in cooling towers and hydronic heating and cooling systems often use chemical infiltration using manual or automatic injection processes in order to chemically treat the water contained in them. Chemical treatment is typically used for a wide range of functions such as the prevention of mineral scale formation, control of microbiological populations, and to inhibit corrosion. These functions may be equally served by the introduction of an electronic process known as pulsed power technology. Environmental benefits of the pulsed power technology are achieved simply with the elimination of potentially hazardous chemicals and their toxic byproducts used to prevent formation of mineral scale, control of microbiological populations, and inhibit corrosion. Conventional chemical treatment systems often ultimately cause the release of potentially hazardous substances into the environment through water discharge such as evaporation, spills, spray, and drift. In conventional process water systems such as open cooling towers chlorine or other biocides are used to control biological activity which is rapidly discharged to the atmosphere as chlorine gas. Corrosion inhibitors such as zinc, molybdenates, and phosphates are discharged in the drift from the cooling tower and spray settling to the ground as well as through the sewer system through blowdown draining. Water softeners, not needed in pulsed power processes, are typically used to prevent scaling and discharge quantities of salt brine as part of the softener process. The use of an alternative means of process water treatment in HVAC equipment such as the pulsed power technology is estimated to yield the following benefits and savings when applied to our building project: - the elimination of potentially hazardous chemicals and their toxic byproducts with the elimination of conventional chemical water treatment processes - saves the use of approximately 186 gallons per year of industrial strength chlorine bleach, 5 to 6 gallons of isothiazine, and 115,000 gallons of water containing 2 ppm zinc and 20 ppm phosphate from being discharged into the environment - saves the requirement for approximately 90 lbs. of chlorine per year (most of which is evaporated to the atmosphere) - Annual water usage savings of approximately 67,275 gal/yr when compared to a typical open system water cooling process (cooling tower) of the same capacity with conventional chemical treatment processes Please confirm attainability of this credit.
The environmental benefits presented are worthy of an innovation credit. However, the type of technology you are referencing may be one that has been controversial in regards to actual results. Your LEED documentation must provide the information above, plus proof that the technology truly works: a copy of a third-party analysis and/or letters from at least two of the vendor\'s previous clients (building engineers or facility managers) that confirm the equipment is operating successfully. Applicable Internationally.