Why attempt to conserve water? During the past two decades the demand for water for our homes, industry and agriculture has been steadily increasing, resulting in recent water shortages in some parts of Britain. Forecasts suggest that this upward trend will continue and this, together with the effects of global warming and the climatic uncertainties of the future, increase the need to conserve and carefully manage our water supplies.
So, what can be done to conserve water in the home and in commercial premises? It is relatively easy to reduce the demand for water in buildings substantially while maintaining modern hygiene standards. The initial step in water conservation comprises simple measures such as showering instead of bathing, turning off taps, and fixing leaks promptly, all of which can make a big difference.
The next step is to install water-efficient appliances.
TAX RELIEF ON SUSTAINABLE WATER TECHNOLOGIES
The Water Technology List, developed and managed by Defra and the Inland Revenue, in partnership with Envirowise, can help UK businesses save money in the short and long-term by encouraging them to invest in technologies and products that reduce water use and improve water quality. In conjunction with the Enhanced Capital Allowance (ECA) scheme, this allows businesses to write off 100% of investments in qualifying technologies and products against tax in the year of investment. The Ifö Cera ES4, available from Green Building Store, is a qualified product in Efficient Toilet category of the Water Technology List.
TOILETS The WC typically uses 30-40% of total household water use, and even more in many commercial premises, so the potential for water saving is huge.
The easiest step is to install a volume reducer in a conventional cistern, for example a 'hippo' or a brick. This can, however reduce the efficiency of the flush to the point where there is a need to flush again, defeating the object. Many pans simply don't work well with reduced, or even full, flush volumes.
The more effective answer is to install, water-efficient WCs. These are specifically designed to clear the pan effectively with smaller flush volumes. Not only are they good for the environment, but where water is metered the financial payback can be as little as 2 - 4 years, depending on household size and local water an sewerage charges. Water efficient toilets make sense on all fronts.
SIPHON & VALVE FLUSH MECHANISMS The siphon flush mechanism is, by design, leak-free. It is robust, requires little maintenance and is familiar to all UK plumbers.
By contrast even the best valve flush mechanisms need to be carefully commissioned to ensure efficient functioning, and monitored to ensure that they do not jam or leak. Spare parts are less readily available in the UK, and the mechanisms less familiar to UK plumbers.
The Ifö Cera Universal set at 4/2 litre dual flush, well maintained and monitored, may give slightly lower water use than the ES4, particularly in the home, where urinals are not normally installed.
For commercial and domestic installations, we believe that the ES4 offers the most reliable and cost-effective answer to water conservation.
Video: Making the Case for Siphons
Green Building Store offers two technologies
The Ifö Cera ES4
ES4 is a 4.5 litre siphon flush WC with a concealed cistern. It is highly water efficient and the siphon flush is inherently leak-free. It is robust, requires little maintainance and is easily serviced by UK plumbers with readily available parts. ES4 has been successfully used in a wide range of domestic and high profile public projects. The mechanism has been tested to 1,500,000 flushing cycles.
The Ifö Cera Universal.
This close-coupled suite uses a high quality European valve dual flush at 4 and 2 litres. It is not currently approved for UK mains water supplies and can therefore only be installed legally on a private water supply. The mechanism is tested to 200,000 flushing cycles.
URINALS
Standard urinals use a lot of water. Waterless urinals are now being installed extensively in the UK, leading to a reduction in commercial water use. These can often be justified on purely financial grounds. However, virtually all waterless urinals currently utilise some sort of disposable cartridge or other consumable, which results in significant runnings costs as well as environmental impact. It is however quite feasible to design waterless urinal systems with no consumables which are virtually maintainance free.
Green Building Store sells urinal components for waterless, consumable free urinals. In conjunction with Elemental Solutions, water conservation specialists, we can offer the design and supply of complete packages. For further information please contact our sales team.
TAPS
The most effective methods of reducing water use from taps are to fit spray inserts, flow restrictors or aerators to new or existing taps. Most European taps have threaded outlets to which these can be fitted. There are also taps where the user has to consciously increase water use and switch to hot water (saving energy).
Green Building Store sells monobloc taps with either the Ecotop water saving cartridge or water-saving inserts. We also sell access valves with integral flow restrictors, which not only can save water, but can improve the performance of a plumbing system by ballancing flow and so helping to stabilise shower temperatures.
WHITE GOODS
Ratings for water efficiency, as well as energy and wash efficiency are now given for all new appliances. When replacing choose the best rating you can afford.
PLUMBING SYSTEMS
A lot of water is wasted through inefficient plumbing, particularly through large 'dead legs', whereby large amounts of water are run off before the water flows hot. A good plumber should be able to advise and assist through the installation of microbore piping and use of combination boilers with integral thermal store.
SHOWERS AND BATHS
Generally, showers use less water than baths except in the case of power showers! Flow restrictors for shower heads are available for certain types of shower.
Green Building Store sells a 10 litre shower flow restrictor, which should only take a few minutes to fit. Our sales team will be pleased to advise whether this would be suitable for your installation.
GARDENS
Garden use only accounts for about 6% of average domestic consumption but most of this occurs in dry summers when water supplies are most stressed.
Simple conservation measures can make a big difference. Mulching the bare soil can reduce the need for water, while pouring the washing up water over the border is not unheard of. Roof water can be saved in a water butt.
Green Building Store sells the original wall mounted water butt. For many people, particularly with small gardens, water butts can take up an excessive amount of space and look rather inelegant. Our wall mounted butt answers this problem with its neat appearance and easy wall mounting.
What about other measures like rainwater recycling and reedbeds?
Once measures have been taken to reduce water use as far as possible, some circumstances can warrant other solutions, such as rainwater recycling systems, dry toilet systems or even greywater or blackwater recycling systems. For private domestic use these more technical solutions are rarely justified on either financial or environmental grounds.
A small rainwater recycling system may for example have a larger environmental impact (materials, energy use for pumps, energy use by technician travelling to maintain it etc) than the water use it is saving. At Green Building Store, we believe that these systems should be specified, designed and preferably installed by specialists who can assess the individual situation and advise accordingly.
