Feasibility Study of Micro Hydropower Plants in High-Rise Buildings in Indonesia By Utilizing A Working Scheme for AC Condenser Water Pumps (Ventilation & Air Conditioning System)

Abstract

In Indonesia the number of high-rise buildings above 150 m tends to increase, according to CTBUH (Council on tall building and urban habitat) in 2018 there are 85 buildings and those that are under construction are 26 buildings, Super tall buildings with a height above 300 meters are 4 buildings and proposed mega tall building with a height of more than 600 meters is 1 building. All these buildings have very large electrical loads. The percentage of electricity consumption in the building that is the object of research is 30-50% coming from the Ventilation & Air Condition (VAC) system, 20% - 30% lighting systems, 10% computers and the rest from other utilities. Several papers and journals discussing the simulation or feasibility study of micro-hydropower plants in high-rise buildings have not yet been discussed how to utilized kinetic energy from the working scheme of the water condenser pump in the VAC system. in general, the existing papers discuss how to utilized gravity potential energy through the working scheme of the building’s clean water tank which is on the roof (rooftop) when distributing water which is not optimal because of the flow of water from the clean water system is not continuous or steady-state. Research Object by taking a case study of a high-rise building in Jakarta with a height of 157 meters. The data was taken from the report on utility use for the 2018 period in the building. From the simulation, the potential of water flow rate (Q) is 0.499 m3 / sec and the electrical power that can be generated (P) is 733.83 kW and this is a Micro-hydro Power Generation category. Economic analysis for building energy savings of Rp. 541,765,714.29 / month and finally roughly Return on Investment (ROI) can be achieved in 3 years and 6 months.