Although many designers have jumped on board with building “green”, there are still many designers who may find it difficult to justify green products within their design budgets. The questions posed are always concerning ROI (products and labour), efficiencies, and the overall cost of turning an existing office into a ‘Greener’ space.

Contrary to popular belief, water and energy efficient plumbing products do not always mean a hefty cost premium will be absorbed by the owner versus traditional products. However, if products and solutions are considered based on office use and existing space, it is possible to retrofit almost any space on a budget. There are products which also cost a slight premium to go green, however these products often provide a large energy and water savings to the space, making them a worthwhile investment due to their contribution to the reduction of operating costs.

Below are a few easy and cost effective ways to make your plumbing systems more water and energy efficient:

Start making “water sense” by replacing 3.5 GPF / 13.2 LPF toilets with a 1.6 GPF / 6 LPF (minimum) unit, 1.28 GPF / 4.8 LPF, or dual-flush models (1.6 GPF / 6 LPF for solid waste, and 1.0 GPF / 3.8 LPF for liquid waste).
There are two ways to update a toilet: by replacing the entire unit, or updating the flush valve assembly. The easiest and least expensive solution is to update an existing, high volume unit with a dual flush model. There are both manual and electronic versions of this product available on the market, and 1.6 GPF / 6 LPF product can be easily retrofitted without removing actual fixtures and disturbing the wall space. A full replacement (toilet and flush valve) can also be done to achieve even higher savings. These units are now very high performance, and may be worth the additional cost (approx. $500 to 800, depending on manual or electronic).

Urinals can also be retrofitted to lower flow solutions. However, this will depend on the type of product installed. If Washdown type urinals are currently on site, you may be able to change out the existing diaphragm assembly on the flush valve to a lower consumption unit without substantially affecting performance. However, if a Blow-out or Siphon-Jet urinal is currently being used, a full replacement of the product will be required. With the list price of a 0.125 Gallon complete unit (Flush valve and Urinal) in the range of $500-$800, it is still a fairly inexpensive solution reduce water consumption. These high efficiency products can achieve further savings of typically 30,000 Gallons (113,562 L) can be achieved per year.

As storage capacity is not typically required in most office spaces (due to the lack of bathtubs, showers, laundry and other high-load applications) an instantaneous hot water heater can be installed to supply the entire space, or even at point of use where individual fixtures may exist. Due to the enormous energy savings which can be realized almost instantly, this is an excellent consideration in green retrofit design. Although not the most inexpensive upgrade, this change can lead to huge savings, with a noticeable return being yielded even after the first year, in addition to decreasing the carbon footprint of your building or space.

Note: The most effective instantaneous hot water models require a gas supply, so ensure that this is considered when re-designing your new green space.

Adding the appropriate water treatment and filtration to your new space will also ensure that the low-flow and high-efficient products now installed will function to the best of their ability and preserve the life-expectancy of the products.

 

Final Thoughts