Countries with no Watersense

Hi Charalampos, 

The PDF you reference does list that WaterSense is required for projects in Canada, but WELS (4 out of 6 stars) is listed as the requirement for Australia.

It appears that for other countries, there are a few labels that are recommended, but not required. If your project is not in the US, Canada, or Australia, for Option 2, specifically (which is required to earn any points under the associated credit), the Reference Guide states "Projects in unlisted countries must comply with the 20%-below-baseline requirement but have no additional performance requirements."

Hope that helps.

Correct. Other than what's specifically listed in the referenced document, other countries have no certification requirements, and need only to meet the 20%-below-baseline requirement for flow.

Emily, The USGBC is still not quite clear for the European Union. We understand the other countries that have no certification requirements need to meet 20% below baseline. However the EU does have a standard The European Water Label. The document, International Water Labeling Programs specifically states that the European Water Labels is recommended but not required for LEED projects. This is confusing to say the least. Is or Is Not the European Water Label an accepted alternative to Water Sense because if you read the language, it is Not. We have fixtures here in the EU that are neither Water Sense nor European Water Label labelled. So does it mean we have to comply with Water Sense even though our project is not in the US or Canada or just ignore both Water Sense and European Water Label and go for the 20% below baseline? Thanks very much!

Hi Steven, 

The European Water Label is not required for EU projects, and is only recommended for assurance for your project. You would not be required to have WaterSense, either. If you happen to have fixtures that do have the European Water Label, they would be accepted by the reviewers as compliant.

Since your location does not have a required compliant certification listed, then your fixtures "must meet the flush and flow requirements of “Table 6. Maximum installed flush or flow rates for prescriptive path” listed in the Step-by-Step Guidance section of the LEED Reference Guide", as stated at the bottom of that International Water Labeling guidance doc.

Thanks Emily, this clears everything up! Cheers
Steve

Just thought I'd update this thread a little, since I noticed the online version of the Guide is slightly different than the PDF version.

The online language states: "For fixtures that require the WaterSense label in countries where the label is unavailable, look up acceptable WaterSense substitutes at usgbc.org. Projects outside the U.S. must meet WaterSense flush and flow rates.

Projects served by water supply pressures different than specified in LEED v4 may install pressure compensating aerators in flow fixtures to achieve the desired flow rate without compromising user satisfaction."

I am working on 5* hotel. However showers in hotel rooms don't meet the WaterSense flow rate. Do you have to meet Table 6 for each accessory, or is it okay to have a total of 20%.

Magdalena, I’m working on a few hotel projects in Sweden. We have had discussions with LEED Coaches regarding this and have tried to get an exception from table 6 for Hotel showers. We did NOT get an exception. (We did for nursing homes for elderly due to working environment issues, but not for hotels). So complying with the 20 % overall is not enough, you have to go for the ones marked with a * in table 6 as well.

Hello Everyone, 

We receive a data sheet from a manufacturer of a shower head but we do not know how to know if the flow rate meets the prerequisite,LEED or not, because the manufacturer did not clearly write the flow rate but they provided a curve of flow rate according to pressure (He gave the flow rates that correspond to pressures between 1 bar and 3 bars), while LEED specifies the flow rates that correspond to the pressure of 415 KPA / 4.15 Bar. What can I do knowing that the manufacturer does not give any flow value for 4.15 Bar ?