Hello,
We have a CI project within an existing building. We are replacing nearly half of the plumbing fixtures, but we still have old toilets and faucets with no available information. Unfortunately, we cannot find the flow rates for these fixtures, and we also lack any old technical drawings.
Has anyone be in this situation? Would it be accepted if we use the baseline consumption?
Also, for the prerequisite, would it be accepted if we just didnt consider the existing fixture? I know that we can't to that for the credit, but it seems unclear for the prerequisite if that is an acceptable solution.
Thanks !
emily reese moody
Sustainability Director, Certifications & ComplianceJacobs
LEEDuser Expert
476 thumbs up
May 11, 2024 - 5:13 pm
Hi Julie,
I've had pretty old, existing fixtures before; we were able to locate the flush/flow rates on the fixtures, themselves, stamped/engraved into the metal fittings part on the toilets/urinals, and on the aerators on the lavs. It was pretty hard to see, though. We had to use our phones behind the toilet flush valve to find them; same with the aerators, they happened to be on the backside just by chance, in tiny text. It's also unlikely to work, but you might also try a Google image search...?
These existing fixtures would not be included in the Prereq calcs; the Reference Guide states to include only the fixtures applicable to the project scope. I searched in the v4 and v2009 posts thinking surely someone asked this in the past, but didn't find a similar post. I don't think the reviewers would accept the baseline for an unknown fixture - if they're much older, it's likely that they're much higher. For this question, you'll likely need to email LEED Coach to get additional direction for your circumstance. Please respond back here with an update if you do. I'm sure the question will come up again for someone.
Andrey Kuznetsov
ESG consultant, LEED AP BD+CSelf Employed
33 thumbs up
May 12, 2024 - 9:12 am
Hello!
I've had such situation. For toilets you can just measure the water tank and levels vefore and after flushing (big and small if there are dual flush) and calculate the volume.
For the faucets - if you know the pressure of water at the project system - it's easy, you need only measuring cup with known volume and timer at smartphone to calculate the flow at project system psi, and recalculate it to the requred psi (60 psi if I'm not mistaken).
If you don't: you need to dismount one (if it is all of one type; if not - dismount one of each type) and test it's flow at known psi (better already 60 psi).