Here’s the best way to control costs in the washroom…

Here is a direct quote from the Environment Agency of England & Wales’ website advising you on how to save money and a precious resource…

“Uncontrolled urinal flushing can easily account for most of the water used in public and commercial buildings”.

Fitting flush controllers overcomes this problem, the best designs effectively eliminate odour and trap blockage problems. Either option can be a cost effective solution for reducing the amount of water used.

Automatic Flushing Urinals

Many automatic flushing urinal installations do not have controls and so flush continuously, and often at a higher rate than specified by the regulations.

For an office with a 40-hour working week this means that 76 per cent of the flushing occurs when the building is unoccupied.

Under the Water Regulations, urinals should use no more than 7.5 litres per bowl per hour (10 litres for a single bowl) and should have a device fitted to prevent flushing when the building is not being used.

In practice, flow rates are rarely measured and will drift with time, or are deliberately increased in a usually vain attempt to solve odour problems.

Many designs of flush controller are available. These either use a P.I.R. detector or a timer to match the hours of use or detect the presence of people.

Monitoring at Worthing High School found the urinals were responsible for over 40 per cent of the schools total water use. This rose to 80 per cent as the trial progressed. The problem was traced to faulty urinal controllers, and the situation might have continued undetected had the school not been carrying out a detailed water audit.

The same circuitry can control lights and shut off the water supply when the washroom is unoccupied, therefore saving energy as well as water.

Chesswood Middle School saved nearly 900m3 per year (a 68 per cent reduction in the total amount of water used by the school) by fitting urinal flush controllers.

Water use due to urinals 1,314m3 per year
After fitting controllers 419m3
Water saved 895m3
Money saved £1,414 per year
Cost of installation £960
Payback: around eight months

 

Installing a water management system from the Vastum Group couldn’t be easier. Just contact us now on 01638 815464 or email us at sales@vastum.co.uk and we’ll arrange a visit to your premises for a no obligation site survey.