Hi,
we are currently certifying a building in Europe, where sanitary equipments are typically tested and certified according with its performance at 3 bar pressure. Sometimes it is possible to get this information (bu it is really hard!), but in this particular project, taps manufacturer only have performance measurements at 3 bar pressure.
Since calculations in LEED are made at 4 bar pressure, and we do not know our current performance at that pressure, shall we consider proposed equipments with water performance similar to baseline (in this case, 0,5 gpm)?
Regards,
Levi Jimenez
Founder & Senior ConsultantViable LLC
12 thumbs up
October 2, 2018 - 4:06 pm
Ricardo,
While I certify American projects, I have had similar conditions under which flowrates had to be determined. In this case, we actually measured the GPM. I realize the pressure may dictate flowrate, so I would suggest measuring the volume of water at 15 seconds, and extrapolate that to a minute and determine the actual flowrate. Using a medium sized measuring container I would measure the water - pretty easy IF you need to know the exact flowrate for transparency. That being said, if a faucet is using an aerator which regulates flow, the pressure shouldnt much matter, since the aerator is compensating. The manufacturer flowrate should be sufficient, accompanied by the specs. But if there's no aerator, I suggest measuring the volume of water at 15 seconds x 4 (1 minute) this might be easier than relying on the Mfg. to provide data at varying pressures. Just my two cents :)
emily reese moody
Sustainability Director, Certifications & ComplianceJacobs
LEEDuser Expert
476 thumbs up
November 10, 2018 - 10:22 pm
Ricardo, does this statement from the Reference Guide help:
"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."
?