The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's WaterSense program has released a draft specification for water-efficient flushometer-valve toilets. After the specification is finalized, EPA anticipates that each WaterSense labeled flushometer-valve toilet model will have the potential to save more than 5,400 gallons of water per year. That translates into more than $1,000 savings over the lifetime of the toilet.
Flushometer-valve toilets are typically found in commercial, institutional, or industrial restrooms. These types of toilets have two main components—the toilet bowl and the flushometer valve.
Like all WaterSense labeled products, flushometer-valve toilets will be independently certified. EPA's draft specification sets the maximum flush volume for WaterSense labeled flushometer-valve models at 1.28 gallons per flush (gpf), which is 20% less water than the federal standard.
EPA estimates that about 28%, or 7.6 million, of the 27 million flushometer-valve toilets currently installed across the country flush at volumes higher than the federal standard of 1.6 gpf—some as much as 3 to 7 gpf. If all old, inefficient commercial flushometer-valve toilets were replaced with WaterSense labeled models, it would save more than 41 billion gallons of water per year nationwide, EPA estimates.
(http://www.epa.gov/watersense/products/flushometer-valve-toilets.html)
Related Stories
| Sep 15, 2011
EPA Releases New High-Rise Residential Energy Star Rating
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently announced an Energy Star rating for multi-family high-rise buildings.
| Sep 15, 2011
Bill Seeks To Spur Stronger Building Codes Nationwide
The Safe Building Code Incentive Act of 2011 would provide strong financial incentives for states to adopt and enforce strong building codes.
| Sep 15, 2011
New Federal Law Limits Amount of Formaldehyde in Wood
President Obama signed into law legislation that limits the amount of formaldehyde in wood. The new measure will impact particle board and other composite wood products .
| Sep 12, 2011
Living Buildings: Are AEC Firms up to the Challenge?
Modular Architecture > You’ve done a LEED Gold or two, maybe even a LEED Platinum. But are you and your firm ready to take on the Living Building Challenge? Think twice before you say yes.
| Sep 8, 2011
OSHA issues alert on incorrectly rebuilt circuit breakers
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a hazard alert, warning workers and employers of certain Eaton/Cutler-Hammer molded-case circuit breakers that were incorrectly rebuilt.
| Sep 8, 2011
USGBC Streamlines LEED EB: O&M
The Council has reorganized the prerequisite and credit structure of LEED EB: O&M.
| Sep 8, 2011
USGBC: 30 Legislative ‘Wins For Green Building’ So Far In 2011
A mid-year report by the U.S. Green Building Council says that there have been “30 legislative wins for green building” across 22 states in 2011.
| Sep 8, 2011
Revised Building Codes Adopted After WTC Attacks Being Implemented
U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) code revision recommendations in the wake of the World Trade Center terrorist attacks are being implemented in new high-rise construction including One World Trade Center, the lead building of the new World Trade Center complex.
| Sep 8, 2011
New Sustainability Standard Addresses Disaster Resistance
To aid local governments to adopt high-performance green building codes, the Portland Cement Association (PCA) and the Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) have developed High Performance Building Requirements for Sustainability 2.0.
| Sep 8, 2011
Pilot ISO 50001 Implementations Report Big Energy Savings
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) recently published ISO 50001 to provide a recognized framework for integrating energy performance into management practices.
