Hello,
I have two questions about this prerequisite:
1st. Are the flow described in the baseline a maximum flow for the project ? Or if we have some fixtures that have a flow rate greater than the baseline, but we respect a water use reduction of 20% on the whole thanks to the other competitive fixtures : is it ok to have this prerequisite ?
I'm working on a french project and in France it is difficult to find faucets with a flow lower than 2.2gpm.
2nd. Is it possible, to reduce the flow, to have flow restrictors fixed on the fixtures ?
Thank you in advance for your answers,
Best regards,
Héloïse COUVERT - ETAMINE
Michelle Robinson Schwarting
148 thumbs up
September 12, 2012 - 8:07 am
The baseline is an aggregate of all the fixtures, so if your faucets don't have low enough flow rates, you can potentially make up the difference by having lower flow/flush rates on the other fixtures.
We frequently see aerators being switched out in the faucets to reduce the flow rate (that's even what I did in my own home). (We often see aerators from Neoperl, which is a German company, so I would assume you can get them in France to fit standard faucets as well.) We occasionally see inline flow restrictors being added (usually in showers). We've never had problems with these reduced flow rates being approved by the LEED Reviewers.