Healthcare-v4.1 WEp2: Indoor water use reduction Required

Credit language

Intent

To reduce indoor water consumption.

Requirements

Building Water Use

For the fixtures and fittings listed in Table 1, as applicable to the project scope, reduce aggregate water consumption by 20% from the baseline. Base calculations on the volumes and flow rates shown in Table 1. All newly installed toilets, urinals, private lavatory faucets, and showerheads that are eligible for labeling must be WaterSense labeled (or a local equivalent for projects outside the U.S.).

Table 1. Baseline water consumption of fixtures and fittings

Commercial Fixtures, Fittings, and Appliances	Current Baseline (IP Units)	Current Baseline (SI units)
Water closets (toilets)*	1.6 gallons per flush (gpf)	6 liters per flush (lpf)
Urinal*	1.0 (gpf)	3.8 lpf
Public lavatory (restroom) faucet	0.5 gpm at 60 psi all others except private applications	1.9 lpm at 415 kPa, all others except private applications
Private lavatory faucet*	2.2 gpm at 60 psi	8.3 lpm at 415 kPa
Kitchen faucet (excluding faucets used exclusively for filling operations)	2.2 gpm at 60 psi	8.3 lpm at 415 kPa
Showerhead*	2.5 gpm at 80 psi per shower stall	9.5 lpm at 550 kPa per shower stall
* WaterSense label available for this product type gpf = gallons per flush gpm = gallons per minute psi = pounds per square inch lpf = liters per flush lpm = liters per minute kPa = kilopascals

Projects located where standard supply pressure is different than the LEED baseline supply pressure may calculate the water consumption of flow fixtures and fittings at the local standard supply pressure; the supply pressure must be consistent in the baseline and proposed case.

Appliance and Process Water Use

Install appliances, equipment, and processes within the project scope that meet the requirements listed in the tables below. Existing appliances intended for reuse in the project are not required to meet the requirements in Table 2.

Appliance and process water use

Install appliances, equipment, and processes within the project scope that meet the requirements listed in the tables below .

Table 2. Standards for appliances

Appliance	Requirement
Residential clothes washers	ENERGY STAR or performance equivalent
Commercial clothes washers	ENERGY STAR or performance equivalent
Residential dishwashers (standard and compact)	ENERGY STAR or performance equivalent
Prerinse spray valves	≤ 1.3 gpm (4.9 lpm)
Ice machine	ENERGY STAR or performance equivalent and use either air-cooled or closed-loop cooling, such as chilled or condenser water system

gpm = gallons per minute
lpm = liters per minute

Table 3. Standards for processes

Process	Requirement
Heat rejection and cooling	No once-through cooling with potable water for any equipment or appliances that reject heat
Cooling towers and evaporative condensers	Equip with: makeup water meters conductivity controllers and overflow alarms efficient drift eliminators that reduce drift to maximum of 0.002% of recirculated water volume for counterflow towers and 0.005% of recirculated water flow for cross-flow towers

In addition, water-consuming appliances, equipment, and processes must meet the requirements listed in Tables 4 and 5.

Table 4. Standards for appliances

Kitchen equipment		Requirement (IP units)	Requirement (SI units)
Dishwasher	Undercounter	≤ 1.6 gal/rack	≤ 6.0 liters/rack
	Stationary, single tank, door	≤ 1.4 gal/rack	≤ 5.3 liters/rack
	Single tank, conveyor	≤ 1.0 gal/rack	≤ 3.8 liters/rack
	Multiple tank, conveyor	≤ 0.9 gal/rack	≤ 3.4liters/rack
	Flight machine	≤ 180 gal/hour	≤ 680 liters/hour
Food steamer	Batch	≤ 6 gal/hour/pan	≤ 23 liters/hour/pan
	Cook-to-order	≤ 10 gal/hour/pan	≤ 38 liters/hour/pan
Combination oven	Countertop or stand	≤ 3.5 gal/hour/pan	≤ 13 liters/hour/pan
	Roll-in	≤ 3.5 gal/hour/pan	≤ 13 liters/hour/pan

Table 5. Standards for processes

Process	Requirement
Discharge water temperature tempering	Where local requirements limit discharge temperature of fluids into drainage system, use tempering device that runs water only when equipment discharges hot water OR Provide thermal recovery heat exchanger that cools drained discharge water below code-required maximum discharge temperatures while simultaneously preheating inlet makeup water OR If fluid is steam condensate, return it to boiler
Venturi-type flow-through vacuum generators or aspirators	Use no device that generates vacuum by means of water flow through device into drain

See all forum discussions about this credit »

What does it cost?

Cost estimates for this credit

On each BD+C v4 credit, LEEDuser offers the wisdom of a team of architects, engineers, cost estimators, and LEED experts with hundreds of LEED projects between then. They analyzed the sustainable design strategies associated with each LEED credit, but also to assign actual costs to those strategies.

Our tab contains overall cost guidance, notes on what “soft costs” to expect, and a strategy-by-strategy breakdown of what to consider and what it might cost, in percentage premiums, actual costs, or both.

This information is also available in a full PDF download in The Cost of LEED v4 report.

Learn more about The Cost of LEED v4 »

Frequently asked questions

See all forum discussions about this credit »