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Private vs Public Lavatory Faucets

Dianne Herrin

Vice President

Practical Energy Solutions

LEEDuser Basic Member

16 thumbs up

May 3, 2010

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Dan Ackerstein

Principal

Ackerstein Sustainability, LLC

LEEDuser Expert

545 thumbs up

Mon, 05/03/2010 - 22:23

A 'private' lavatory is, as I understand it, found in a residential setting. Most lavatories owned/operated by a commercial building or institutional owner would be considered public lavatories and held to the 0.5gpm standard. The lavatories you describe are almost certainly public lavatories in this regard.

Dianne Herrin

Vice President

Practical Energy Solutions

LEEDuser Basic Member

16 thumbs up

Mon, 05/03/2010 - 22:49

That's what I thought. There seems to be a lot of misunderstanding out there about this. Thanks for your help.

Jason Franken

Sustainability Professional

LEEDuser Expert

430 thumbs up

Tue, 05/04/2010 - 01:16

This is absolutely correct. The only time when you may have a private lavatory in a non-residential setting is for something like an executive washroom attached to a CEO's office. Ultimately, the best rule of thumb for defining a private lavatory is if it used exclusively by a single person on a daily basis. Anything else will be a public lavatory.

Yong Lee Low

ESD Consultancy

ZEB-Technology Pte Ltd

LEEDuser Basic Member

127 thumbs up

Fri, 06/25/2010 - 05:48

My project is a resort.Does it mean that all faucets in the resort guest room are private.What about the faucets in the common areas?Please advice.

Jason Franken

Sustainability Professional

LEEDuser Expert

430 thumbs up

Thu, 07/01/2010 - 13:41

Yes, in a hotel/resort setting, the faucets in guest rooms are considered private lavatory faucets and the ones in common spaces and back-of-house spaces are considered public lavatory faucets. If any of the hotel staff have access to their own private restroom, meaning they are the only employee who uses that restroom on a daily basis, those would also be considered private lavatory faucets.

Sarah Almutairi

LEEDuser Basic Member

0 thumbs up

Thu, 12/09/2021 - 05:28

What about lavatory in a bank, that is only used by the four employees? Wouldnt that be consideded private, as it is the same people who use it.

Emily Purcell

Sustainable Design Lead

CannonDesign

LEEDuser Expert

379 thumbs up

Thu, 12/09/2021 - 14:30

That would be public. I think a slightly better way to phrase the rule of thumb is that private restrooms are ones that are used like a residential restroom. A hotel guest room faucet will be used to wash hands and face, brush teeth, and fill a glass of water, so it is private. The bank lavatory, even though very few people are using it, will be used to wash hands only, so it is public.