Group 067-06: Sustainability

Week 5 Week 5, we made a big change to our design. Our original design using the Myers hall building, the water use was not reduced by a substantial amount. We decided to change our design to a residential building. We are still going to include our original methods like rainwater collection and low flow restrictors. We are still working to figure out whether or not a filter is needed. If we go the route of filtering the rainwater, it would be costly but the filtered water can be directed right into the water main line. We also have to keep in mind that the water will be used up as it is being filled so the collection tank could either be empty or overfilled. When the collection tank is empty, the water supply will come from the water main supply line. There will be either a second tank connected to store the overflow of the first or an output to allow the excess water to drain off the property. In rainwater collection systems it is common to have a "first flush" system, w...

Week 4 This week consisted mostly of interpreting the roof and plumbing plan and trying to determine the square footage. After we calculated the square footage we were able to determine the amount of water that was able to be captured per year. We also figured that in order to reduce the water intake by  a noticeable amount we would need to implement low flow water restriction on most of the spouts. Using the water restrictors we can reduce the usage of water per output by more than 50%. We began to calculate the number of rainwater tanks we would need for our system to run sufficiently. We decided in order to reduce the amount of water used, we would need to make the collected water potable. We have been looking at various styles of industrial water purification systems, to determine which one will fit our situation best.We would also need a pump from the purifier to the water main line. Our flow of parts can be represented by gutters > collection tank > purifier > p...