Necessary Upgrades
Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By John Watson
New and old schools alike can benefit by designing restrooms to be more water-efficient.
Stetson University College of Law, Gulfport, Fla., has taken a conservative approach in its green efforts but recognizes that water-efficient plumbing is a prime target for savings.
When designing restrooms for a new school, it's easy to start fresh with all-new plumbing products and systems that provide the latest functionality and greater water savings to meet green, or sustainable, objectives. For renovations, the options differ. Although water-efficient fixture and fitting choices for existing restrooms are a little more complex, they certainly are worth pursuing.
There's been so much emphasis on sustainable products and programs in new building construction, some mistakenly think it's too late or not worthwhile to go green with buildings that have been around for 20 years or more. Administrators are realizing the green movement applies to existing buildings too, and many are beginning to do something to improve the efficiencies of their education facilities.
Michelle Moore, senior vice president, policy and public affairs for the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), recently testified before the U.S. Congress about the importance of green buildings. Focusing on schools in particular, she cited green buildings' impact on the environment and the economy, as well as on the health and productivity of occupants.
“School buildings represent the largest construction sector in the country, and 20 percent of the country goes to school every day,” says Moore. “It's fundamental to promote the design and construction of green schools, which play a tremendous role in bettering the health and performance of our students and children. Every new building coming out of the ground today should be built green, and every existing building should be retrofitted.”
Retrofit vs. new
Facility renovations and building additions, of course, offer prime opportunities to improve water efficiency in the restroom. This can be achieved either by installing new water-efficient plumbing products and systems or by retrofitting existing plumbing fixtures with kits that reduce water usage or offer additional functions, such as upgrading manual flush valves to sensor operation (see sidebar on p. 178).
With or without a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) project pushing the need for plumbing updates, many factors drive the water-efficiency trend in schools. These factors include rising water and sewer costs, as well as local water-use restrictions.
Toilets and urinals often are buildings' biggest indoor water users, so it makes sense to focus on these fixtures. Restroom renovations sometimes call for completely replacing the existing plumbing products with new, more water-efficient models. Flushometers using 1.6 gpf or less will not work on 3.5 gpf toilet bowls, for example. The fixture flush volume typically should match the flush volume of the flushometer valve.
For technologies such as pressure-assist 1.0 gpf toilets or waterfree urinals, it is necessary to replace the equipment with new fixtures. These systems cannot be retrofitted onto existing fixtures. Keep in mind that removing old toilet and urinal fixtures is a fundamental part of the retrofit process. Fixture replacement may be disruptive, but it's worth it to achieve savings and maintain peak performance.
When replacing the fixture cannot be justified, low-consumption flush valve retrofits are an alternative. In some cases, it is possible to replace 3.5 gpf parts with 2.4 gpf parts. This saves 1 gallon of water per flush, but some level of performance may be lost.
In addition, regular maintenance on fixtures can reduce water consumption. Leaks are one of the biggest causes of wasted water. A faucet drip or toilet leak can waste up to 15 gallons of water a day, or 105 gallons a week, for a total of 5,475 gallons of wasted water a year.
LEED and schools
The USGBC's LEED Green Building Rating System certifies buildings that meet key requirements for sustainable development and design. The two LEED programs for schools are: LEED for Schools, which is suitable for new construction and major renovations in all types of schools and is the sole option for K-12 schools, and the newly revamped LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance (LEED-EB: O&M), which only applies to renovations in higher-education facilities.
LEED projects are evaluated within six environmental categories. Restroom plumbing falls into the Water Efficiency (WE) category.
There are WE category differences between the two point systems. The LEED for Schools rating system awards WE points if it can be demonstrated that the designed plumbing systems will collectively consume less water when compared with a national code standard. In the LEED-EB: O&M rating system, a baseline limit of water usage is first established by the age of the building; points are awarded based on how well the building performs above that baseline.
LEED-EB: O&M includes one required WE prerequisite and optional WE credits, whereas LEED for Schools only involves optional WE credits.
LEED-EB: O&M presents an opportunity for higher-education facilities to make sustainable improvements to their existing infrastructures. In an effort to reduce a school's water usage, the LEED-EB: O&M WE prerequisite focuses on reducing fixture potable water usage to a level equal to or below the building's water-usage baseline.
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