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Almost invisible dripping from bus air conditioning began to supply internal systems of the Águia Branca fleet, reducing waste and transforming an observation made on the road into a reuse practice with an annual impact measured in millions of liters.
Viação Águia Branca started reusing the water condensed by the air conditioning of intercity buses for internal functions of the vehicles, such as supplying the windshield wiper and using it in toilets during long-distance trips.
This solution arose from the observation of the driver Douglas Neves Lascosck, who identified the waste in the operational routine of the fleet and proposed an adaptation to redirect the volume that previously flowed outside the buses.
According to a report by Época published on October 11, 2013, Lascosck was working at Viação Águia Branca when he noticed that the water formed by the air conditioning condensation was discarded during road trips.
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At the same time, the reservoir used for cleaning the windshield needed frequent replenishment, especially on long trips, where dust, insects, and debris accumulated on the glass can affect the driver’s visibility.
The publication reported that the adaptation was developed with the support of electricians Armando Braz Ribeiro Júnior and Washington Martins, as well as administrative assistant Rodrigo dos Santos, who helped transform the observation into an applied solution.
The system operates from a simple structure, designed to channel the water generated by the air conditioning to operational use reservoirs, without altering the main function of the vehicle’s climate control equipment.
Air conditioning water becomes a resource inside the bus
During the operation of the air conditioning, the moisture present in the air condenses and forms water, a common process in refrigeration systems that normally eliminate this volume outside the vehicle.
In intercity buses, however, the air conditioning remains on for many hours, which makes an apparently small drip gain relevance when considered in hundreds of trips and vehicles operating throughout the year.
The reused material is not intended for human consumption but for activities that do not require potable water, such as the windshield wiper reservoir and the bus toilets used on long routes.
According to information published by Estadão Mobilidade on March 27, 2024, the mechanism redirects the water from the condensation of the air conditioning system for these auxiliary functions within the road operation.
In the Época report, Lascosck stated that the system could generate 3 liters of water every two and a half hours of air conditioning operation, a volume that scaled up in the fleet.
Viação Águia Branca estimated, in the same publication, that applying the adaptation to the 493 air-conditioned buses mentioned at the time could reach 1.5 million liters of water per year.
Reuse reduces consumption on long trips
The measure also addressed a practical demand faced on the roads, as the windshield wiper depends on a filled reservoir to keep the glass clean during stretches with dust, mud, or debris.
On road trips, the driver’s visibility can be impaired by dirt accumulated along the route, making the supply of the cleaning system a necessity linked to operational safety.
In the restrooms, reuse follows the same logic of non-potable use, as these facilities require supply and maintenance on buses that travel longer distances and remain in circulation for longer periods.
With the redirection of condensation, part of the water that would be lost now serves an auxiliary function within the vehicle itself, helping to reduce the total consumption of the operation without creating a new source of capture.
Water savings reach millions of liters per year
The adaptation ceased to be an isolated solution and became part of the company’s reuse actions, which also involve vehicle washing, garage maintenance, and water use in other operational stages.
According to Estadão Mobilidade, Viação Águia Branca reported saving 30 million liters of water per year through reuse initiatives adopted in its transportation and maintenance routine.
In the set of actions, the company declared reusing 31.2 million liters of water per year, considering different processes applied in the fleet, garages, and activities related to vehicle operation.
Within this volume, the system installed on the buses has its own contribution, as the report informed an approximate production of 1.5 liters of water every 50 kilometers traveled by the fleet.
This capture represents an estimated annual savings of 1.897 million liters just in Viação Águia Branca buses, according to data published by Estadão Mobilidade on the condensation mechanism.
The same report recorded that, since 2015, when the entire fleet began operating with the system, the company had already saved about 13 million liters of water through this method.
Estadão Mobilidade also reported that the mentioned fleet totaled 700 vehicles, a scale that helps explain how small volumes, repeated over thousands of kilometers, reach significant numbers in the annual balance.
Driver’s idea was born from routine on the roads
At the origin of the project, the work routine played a central role, because road drivers closely monitor the needs of vehicles on long routes, under climate variations, accumulated dirt, and continuous use of equipment.
By observing the disposal of condensed water while the windshield reservoir needed refilling, Lascosck found a direct relationship between a recurring waste and a practical demand of the operation.
With the support of colleagues, the previously lost water began to be stored and used inside the bus, in an adaptation made without sophisticated equipment and based on the utilization of an already available resource.
According to Estadão Mobilidade, the first adaptation occurred within the company’s workshop, before the project began to be applied to all buses starting in 2013.
From 2015, according to the same report, the entire fleet of Viação Águia Branca was already operating with the mechanism, consolidating the solution as a practice incorporated into road operations.
The company also shared the project with Marcopolo, a bus body manufacturer, which began producing vehicles with the modification, expanding the reach of the adaptation initiated in the garage.
Water reuse also occurs in garages
In addition to the water collected on the buses, Águia Branca informed Estadão Mobilidade that it uses rainwater for washing vehicles and in garage environments, as part of its consumption reduction actions.
Among the procedures adopted, the report mentioned oil separation and filtration processes, which allow the water to be reused in cleaning activities conducted in the company’s operational structures.
Air conditioning equipment at Águia Branca’s headquarters also provides water for watering plants and washing light vehicles, according to information published by Estadão Mobilidade about the company’s environmental actions.
With this set of measures, the company reported achieving a reduction of about 40% in water consumption, a result associated with the sum of initiatives applied to the fleet, garages, and headquarters.
The experience shows that operational efficiency can arise from simple adjustments when they are incorporated into the routine and repeated on a large scale, especially in activities involving a large circulation of vehicles.
In the case of Viação Águia Branca, the almost imperceptible water dripping from the air conditioning began to supply the auxiliary systems of the buses and was included in the company’s annual water savings accounting.
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