To the consternation of many HVAC (Heating Ventilation and Air-Conditioning) technicians system placement is limited by drainage of condensate. Finding an easy place to drain the condensate or getting rid of the condensate prior to drainage would be ideal.
While using TRIZ principles to solve problems you must identify the problem and the ideal situation. For this case both have been stated in the previous paragraph.
Problem: Drainage of condensate
Ideal Situation: Place to drain the condensate or get rid of condensate prior to drainage
Evaluation of our problems with the 39 Engineering Problems will lead to dismissal of some and acceptance of others. The following examples addressed our problem.
26. Amount of substance: The amount of condensate is enough to cause a problem when it comes to draining it away, but it is not enough to provide a cooling effect of serve alternate purposes.
30. Harmful factors acting on object: Water and electricity do not mix, doing so can cause an electrifying experience.
31. Harmful side effects: When you introduce moisture into a system you can get galvanic corrosion on metal and bacterial growth on soft surfaces.
33. Convenience of use: Routing a drain line through a structure and away from the structure can prove to be a significant engineering problem in itself.
Identifying what is wrong leads to asking how to fix the problem. Asking the 40 questions of TRIZ leads to a structured brain-storming event with engineers that have only a basic knowledge of the system.
2. Weight of non-moving object: Water will flow down, not up. We would need to pump it to a higher place.
3. Local Quality: Use heat in return line to burn off the condensate.
6. Universality: Have condensate drip into a unit designed to absorb water that is near. (i.e. flower pot)
7. Nesting: Have evaporator coil return line run through encapsulated flash pan. Condensate runs through pan. Condensate burns off, refrigerant cools down, and steam is vented. (combine with #3).
10. Prior action: Install AC units or align drain lines to allows for more efficient drainage.
18. Mechanical vibration: Introduce ultrasonic vibrations into a water reservoir to evaporate liquid.
22. Convert harm into benefit: Have flower planter near condensate discharge line.
35. Transformation of the physical and chemical status of an object: Heat up the condensate to make it evaporate.
36. Phase transformation: Heating up the water would make it go from a liquid to a vapor and make it disappear.
Asking the right questions with TRIZ enables compilation of multiple solutions from a systematic approach.
Solution #1: Inline system that uses hot return from evaporator to heat up condensate reservoir being exposed to ultrasonic vibrations. This enables condensate to evaporate while eliminating mold, mildew, and galvanic corrosion.
Solution #2: Direct condensate to potted plants and bushes creating symbiotic systems.
Solution #3: Devise a sump that collects water until a relay switch can be activated turning on an electric pump motivating condensate to a higher plane for ease of drainage.
To recap we had a known problem, came up with an ideal situation, compare our problem with the 39 engineering problems, and asked the 40 engineering questions to come up with 3 workable solutions that are ready for production. All of this using a systematic approach to inventive problem solving.
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