Sustainable Restroom Design: Saving the planet one fixture at a time

by Katie Daniel | April 22, 2016 10:27 am

By Patrick Boyle, CSP, LEED GA
As water continues to become a scarcer natural resource around the globe and in North America, in particular, it may only be a matter of time before Canadian provinces begin adopting more stringent water-efficiency standards for commercial buildings. These standards are already in place in many drought-stricken parts of the United States, and if Canada follows suit, architects soon may be required to install or retrofit more water-efficient fixtures for restrooms.

By specifying and upgrading to new high-efficiency products now, architects and building owners can get ahead of the sustainability curve while creating esthetically pleasing and highly functional restrooms.

Water issues in the great white north
Canadians rank second only to Americans in terms of the highest per capita water use in the developed world—more than double Europeans’ usage. According to Environment Canada, Canadian water use has increased by 25 per cent over the past 20 years, while other developed countries—even the United States—have seen drops in consumption.

Yet, despite being flanked by three oceans, and having access to Hudson Bay, along with the Great Lakes—which is six per cent of the world’s ‘renewable’ fresh water—Canada still has its water woes. (Water that is replenished by precipitation, runoff, or groundwater recharge).

For example, 60 per cent of the country’s fresh water drains northward, away from where it is needed most—the band running along the country’s southern border where the majority of Canadians live. Additionally, antiquated water pipes in Montréal leak approximately 40 per cent of their precious cargo on the way to taps.

The Great Lakes Basin—the planet’s largest body of fresh water—is under increasing demand from industry, power plants, farms, and the more than 40 million people living nearby. This has caused water levels to hit historic lows in some of the Great Lakes.

The 2015 World Economic Forum identified the looming global water crisis as the top international risk in terms of impact. This is because water is an essential natural resource. Additionally, water, energy, and food are all interrelated. Water is needed to produce energy and energy is needed to deliver water. Water and energy are needed to produce food. Humans need water to survive.

Green building water standards
Whether a building is an office, school, hospital, or hotel, about 40 per cent of the water used is consumed in the restrooms. Office buildings, in particular, use an average of nearly 60,000 L (15,850 gal) of potable water per day.

The Green Building Performance Initiative of the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) is developing a national building performance database owners and managers can use to measure and discover ways to improve the energy- and water-efficiency of their buildings. CaGBC administers the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, which has become the most recognized standard for green building throughout the world.

CaGBC estimates roughly 70 per cent of all municipal water is consumed in and around buildings. When a building uses less water, it not only reduces the impact on a limited resource, but also requires less energy to pump the water into and out of the building—saving money on utility bills. Less water going out, in turn, also reduces the strain on local wastewater treatment facilities. A reduction in water usage results in benefits for everyone, including:

• the building owner (in terms of return on investment[ROI]);
• the building occupants (healthy interiors); and
• the community (reduced strain on local resources).

This October, the LEED 2009 standard for water-efficiency will be replaced by LEED v4—a more stringent standard calling for a minimum reduction in indoor aggregate water consumption of 20 per cent for all newly installed toilets, urinals, and lavatory faucets. High-efficiency products are the key elements in the next generation of green restroom design. From toilets and urinals to faucets and high-speed hand dryers, today’s green restrooms blend design and innovation to reduce water, energy, maintenance, and waste. High-efficiency products also help facilities qualify for a range of LEED credits.

High-efficiency toilets
In the restroom, the fixture using the most water by far is the toilet. Generally, older units—those manufactured before 1992—use the most water, often between 13 and 26.5 L (3.4 and 7 gal) per flush, depending on their age. New high-efficiency toilets (HETs) employ about 4.8 L (1.2 gal) per flush. Switching from an older toilet to a HET can save more than 22,000 L (5811 gal) per year per toilet. Clearly, making buildings greener can have a significant impact on larger environmental goals.

Dual-flush toilets are also considered HETs. When the handle is tilted down, it uses a full-volume 6 L (1.5 gal) per flush for solid waste. When the handle is tilted up, the toilet uses 4.2 L (1.1 gal) per flush or 30 per cent less water for light waste. Dual-flush toilets, popular in Australia, have been around since the early 1980s and recently have caught on in North America. The dual-flush retrofit handles are easy to install on existing fixtures and give a building owner or manager an inexpensive way to start saving water immediately.

The next generation of dual-flush HETs is electronic and hands-free. If a user is detected for less than 60 seconds, the device will assume light waste and automatically use the lower volume of water. If a user is detected for more than 60 seconds, it will assume heavy waste and give the full flush volume.

Power-harvesting fixtures can be used as another way to save on maintenance and resources. These hands-free, solar-powered flushometers are available in single-flush or automatic dual-flush electronic versions and have a much longer battery life than regular battery-powered products.

HETs have created successful savings at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and at the Portland Airport in Maine. At Target Field, the installation of more than 600 manual dual-flush flushometers is expected to save $133,600 annually, compared to the standard 6.4 L per flush toilets. Additionally, Portland Airport is reporting the installation of 330 manual dual-flush and electronic dual-flush flushometers helped realize a savings of more than 113,000 L (29,851 gal) of potable water a day.

Another type of HET uses reclaimed water—which is mandatory in some countries and is an idea gaining traction in North America. Due to the chemical content in this reclaimed water, this flushometer has been specifically engineered with high-copper, semi-red brass, and synthetic rubber components enabling it to withstand the harsh chemical conditions of the water. This product has an optional industry-standard purple handle, which is used to identify district/municipal water lines and other systems using reclaimed water.

A pressure-assist device is another method of achieving a high-efficiency toilet. These products use compressed air to increase the flush velocity with lower amounts of water.

High-efficiency urinals
Billions of litres (260 million gal) of potable water are used every year to flush urinals. High-efficiency urinals (HEUs) use 50 per cent or less than today’s 3.9 L (1 gal) per flush models, and there are many options available, including 0.5, 1, and 1.9 L (0.1, 0.2, and 0.5 gal) per flush and waterfree HEUs.

Waterfree urinals consist of a vitreous china fixture and a cartridge providing an airtight seal from the drain to prevent odours from escaping. The cartridge also acts as a trap to collect sediment, allowing waste to pass easily down the drain. Waterfree urinals save 100 per cent of water as compared with a traditional urinal, but proper installation and routine maintenance are key to keeping them working optimally.

Waterfree urinals can also save a great deal of money. Merritt 7 Corporate Park in Norwalk, Connecticut, was retrofitted with 23 waterfree urinals. After retrofit, the parks water bills reflected a reduction in water use of 3.2 million L (845,350 gal), equating to an annual savings of $10,420, with a 2.5-year return on investment (ROI). The corporate park anticipates saving as much as 7.6 million L (2 million gal) per year from the water-efficient plumbing system upgrades, which also enabled them to receive an additional LEED credit for water-efficiency on top of the credit for installing low-consumption toilets.

Recently introduced ‘hybrid’ urinals are another high-efficiency option. These units use carefully directed water ‘purges’ to rinse the drain line periodically, preventing buildup that can cause odour and boosting plumbing system performance.

High-efficiency faucets
Faucets account for trillions of litres (260 billion gallons) of water use per year across Canada. Electronic faucets are a viable option to help reduce water usage. The average time an electronic faucet is ‘on’ per user is only about 10 seconds, including the two to three seconds when the user wets their hands and the six to seven seconds when they rinse. In addition to saving water, electronic faucets are easy to use, efficient, vandal-resistant, more hygienic (as they are touch free), and accommodate persons with disabilities.

Design, hygiene and convenience
Not only are today’s newer fixtures more water-efficient, but commercial manufacturers are also paying more attention to the smart design and esthetics of the commercial restroom. Modern, attractive restroom fixtures now deliver a highly functional, hygienic, and convenient restroom user experience.

For example, there is a new trend toward integrated sink, faucet, soap dispenser, and hand-dryer systems. This no-touch sink system—enables the user to activate the faucet, soap-dispenser, and hand-dryer using infrared technology.

Historically, hand-dryers have not been popular because they take too long to dry hands completely, which is why they are only installed in about 10 per cent of restrooms. It takes about 10 seconds to dry hands with paper towels and 35 to 45 seconds with traditional hand dryers. Newer high-speed, energy-efficient hand dryers are changing people’s perceptions. These hand dryers can dry in 10 to 15 seconds—three times faster than conventional hand dryers. They are also 50 per cent quieter and save 80 per cent of the energy of traditional hand dryers. Additionally, they are easy to install and virtually service-free.

The savings in water, electricity, paper towels, maintenance, and waste removal adds up quickly, positively affecting a facility manager’s bottom line. Upgrading restrooms with high-efficiency products immediately saves time, money, and the environment.

Water-saving and eye-catching
As Canada begins to address the pending global water shortage, design construction professionals eventually may be mandated to use more water-efficient commercial restroom fixtures. Luckily, there are highly efficient products currently available to address these issues, with limitless options for esthetics, performance, function, and hygiene. By specifying high-efficiency plumbing products in new construction and retrofitting existing buildings with them now, building teams will be well-positioned to comply with new water-efficiency standards while still offering attractive, functional restrooms.

Patrick Boyle, CSP, LEED GA, is director of corporate sustainability at Sloan. He holds a master’s degree in environmental management and sustainability and is on the board of directors of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Illinois Chapter. He can be reached at patrick.boyle@sloan.com[1].

Source URL: https://www.constructioncanada.net/sustainable-restroom-design-saving-the-planet-one-fixture-at-a-time/

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