uneven temperatures in your home

If you live in a drought area with imposed water-usage restrictions, your lawn could probably use a good drink of water. But don't reach for the garden hose, because you could be fined for overuse of water. A suburb of Fresno issued fines totaling over $500,000 over the summer of 2015 for infractions that included lawn watering. 

If you'd like to water your lawn without risking fines, consider installing a condensate recovery system for your heat pump. Here's what you need to know about condensate recovery and how to make it safe to use for watering your lawn. 

Water in Heat Pumps 

All air has water vapor in it, which is called humidity. When heat pumps operate as air conditioners to cool the home, the units also act as a dehumidifier because air is compressed when it reaches the condenser in the heat pump. This compression causes the water vapor to form droplets of condensation and fall into a pan located at the bottom of the heat pump. 

When heat pumps operate as heaters, frost can form on the coils of the heat pump. When the defrost cycle kicks in to get rid of the frost, it melts and drips into the condensate pan. The pan has an valve that automatically opens when the pan is almost full to release the water from the heat pump into a drainage system or simply to the ground from a pipe. However, since you want to recover this water, you'll need to redirect the piping so you can water your lawn. 

Helpful tip: If you live in an area where you don't need to water your lawn in the winter months, hire an HVAC contractor or plumber to install a split pipe system with one line going to the current setup, the other line going to your recovery system, and a shut-off valve at the split. That way, you can shut off the recovery system in the winter months and have the condensate go into the drainage system instead.

Recovery System & Water Treatment 

The water from the condensation and frost melt may contain contaminants and/or microorganisms, such as bacteria that causes Legionnaire's disease. People have contracted this disease after working in their garden that had soil contaminated with legionella bacteria. Therefore, it is crucial that you direct the piping to a water treatment and filtration unit as the first part of the recovery system. Hire a plumbing service to do the installation.

Helpful tip: It's also a good idea to hire an HVAC contractor to clean the condensing coils and condensate pan in your heat pump before you start recovering the water from it. That way, you can effectively reduce the amount of microorganisms and contaminants for improved water quality for your lawn. However, doing this doesn't mean that you can do away with the treatment and filtration unit. It's just a good way to start fresh with your condensate recovery system. 

Holding Tank & Piping 

You'll need a holding tank for the water after it's been treated. Since you'll use the water for your lawn, use a dry well as a type of holding tank. A dry well is an excavated hole with a container in it to hold water. These containers typically have holes in the sides of them to slowly allow water to drain out of the container and into the soil. However, for the purpose of watering your lawn, you can connect an irrigation or sprinkler system to the container with piping. 

Helpful tip: It's a good idea to choose an underground irrigation or sprinkler system to protect the pipes from freezing in the colder months. If you choose an above ground system, the pipes and/or tubes will need to be drained before freezing temperatures set in for the winter season. That way, you will avoid ruptures in the pipes and/or tubes when the water in them goes through freezing and thawing cycles. For more information, contact a business such as Cape Fear Air Conditioning & Heating Co., Inc.