Water Saving Technologies for Buildings August 10, 2015

Mike Hess, PE, LEED AP US Green Building Council − National Board of Directors – − Florida & Caribbean Regional Representative – − Central Florida Past President Principal at exp − Earth Group − Commissioning Department

Agenda Water Saving Technologies − Outside the Building − Inside the Building Water Re-use Technologies Discovery Techcenter II Case Study

WATER SAVING TECHNOLOGIES

Water Saving Technologies Outside the Building Can typically reduce irrigation by more than 50% with a combination of landscape and irrigation strategies − Landscaping − Native and drought tolerant plants − Minimize turf grass − Group plants based on water needs − Avoid thin strips of turf grass − Diversify species − Landscaping − Native and drought tolerant plants − Minimize turf grass − Group plants based on water needs − Avoid thin strips of turf grass − Diversify species

Water Saving Technologies Outside the Building Can typically reduce irrigation by more than 50% with a combination of landscape and irrigation strategies − Irrigation − Different zones for shaded areas − Separate water meter for leak detection − Drip where possible − Smart irrigation controls with rain sensors − Irrigation − Different zones for shaded areas − Separate water meter for leak detection − Drip where possible − Smart irrigation controls with rain sensors

Water Saving Technologies Inside the Building Can typically reduce water by 30% - 40% with a combination of technologies − Water saving appliances − Faucet controls − Ultra low flow lavatory sinks Gallons per Minute (GPM) or less − Low flow kitchen and break room sinks – 1.5 GPM or less − Low flow showers – 1.8 GPM or less − Water saving appliances − Faucet controls − Ultra low flow lavatory sinks Gallons per Minute (GPM) or less − Low flow kitchen and break room sinks – 1.5 GPM or less − Low flow showers – 1.8 GPM or less

Water Saving Technologies Inside the Building Can typically reduce water by 30% - 40% with a combination of technologies − Ultra low flow urinals – Gallons per Flush (GPF) or less − Low flow toilets – 1.3 GPF average or less − Dual flush − Air pressure assist − Ultra low flow urinals – Gallons per Flush (GPF) or less − Low flow toilets – 1.3 GPF average or less − Dual flush − Air pressure assist

WATER RE-USE TECHNOLOGIES

Water Re-use Technologies Why do we throw water away and then pay to bring it back? Typically conserve first (can cut storage tank sizes in half) Can typically reduce water inside the building 80%+ with efficient fixtures and re-use water for non potable

Water Re-use Technologies Water re-use options − Municipal reclaim water − Irrigation − Toilet flushing − Greywater (sink and shower drains) − Irrigation − Toilet flushing − Condensate (from air conditioning units) − Can use for anything − Rainwater (from site) − Irrigation − Rainwater (from the right roof surface) − Can use for anything

Greywater Re-use Collect water from shower and sinks Can’t store it long without treatment (or stuff grows in it) Irrigation – sub-surface and not near crops Toilet flushing – may want to disinfect with chlorine or UV first

Greywater Re-use Greywater Rainwater

Condensate Harvesting Cooling coil condensate from air conditioning units Best resource is a psychrometric chart or program Need annual weather data for your location − Temperature − Humidity Assuming 1,000 CFM of fresh air in Orlando (enough for about 50 occupants) − 3 to 5 Gallons per Hour of water generated at peak cooling times

Condensate Harvesting

Rainwater Harvesting Collect from the site or the roof − Site – typically for irrigation only due to contaminants in run-off − Roof – should be a smooth clean surface (metal, singly ply membrane) if you want to bring it back into the building Good resource – Google “Texas Manual on Rainwater Harvesting” Use websites like NOAA for mean annual precipitation Orlando normally receives 48 inches of rain per year − Multiply rainfall with the collection area

Rainwater Harvesting

DISCOVERY TECHCENTER II CASE STUDY Water

General Project Info 60,000 SF office Owned by Taurus Southern Investments LEED CS 1.0 Gold Certified In the UCF Research Park In operation for 5+ years

Outside the Building Zero potable water for irrigation − Drought tolerant plants − Rainwater harvesting from site and retention pond Lessons learned – don’t spray onto wide sidewalks

Inside the Building Zero potable water for flushing toilets and urinals − Dual flush toilets and low flow urinals − Rainwater and condensate harvesting from roof and cistern 89% less water than a typical office Saves about 346,000 gallons per year Lessons learned − Smoothing inlet and floating intake could have avoided tank cleaning − Use established vendors − Avoid make-up directly into cistern if possible − Coordinate make-up cross connect with local Authority Having Jurisdiction

Harvesting Components Serving Interior

CONCLUSION

Conclusion Can typically reduce irrigation by 50% with sensible landscape and irrigation technology Can typically reduce water inside the building 30% - 40% with low flow fixtures Typically in Orange County – more water lands on our roof than what we use Can typically reduce water inside the building 80%+ with efficient fixtures and re-use water for non potable Conserve before re-use to minimize costs

QUESTIONS