Water Demand Calculator outperforms traditional plumbing codes for energy, carbon, and water savings

Using IAPMO’s Water Demand Calculator tool can result in energy, carbon, and water savings as compared to using traditional plumbing specification methods in plumbing codes, according to a study by Arup.

Arup compared the Water Demand Calculator with the Hunter’s Curve method that has been a long-time standard in both the Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC) and the International Plumbing Code (IPC) for sizing domestic hot water systems. The study examined four residential-use cases, including a single-family home, and six-unit, 45-unit, and high-rise multifamily residences.

Water savings ranged from 450 gallons to 71,000 gallons annually depending on the building size. High-rise residential buildings were found to have operational carbon savings between 73% and 84% for booster pumps and embodied carbon savings ranging from 20% to 41%.

IAPMO’s Water Demand Calculator predicts peak water demand for single-family and multifamily dwellings, removing the need for assigning fixture units to plumbing fixtures. Instead, the IAPMO tool calculates peak demand using algorithms based on building size.