do these count in our standard water calculations? if not, can we include them as process water to earn exemplary? in the FAQ section above it states that water fountains and other fixtures that are considered process water can be included to earn an exemplary point.
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Tristan Roberts
RepresentativeVermont House of Representatives
LEEDuser Expert
11477 thumbs up
May 9, 2013 - 10:53 am
No, they don't count as regulated fixtures under WEp1/c3.You could probably include them as process water, but how would you demonstrate savings? I see filling stations as saving packaging, not water, and I'm not aware of appreciable water savings from one filling station to another. I would probably not choose to include them.
Norma Lehman
PrincipalThe Beck Group
133 thumbs up
May 9, 2013 - 11:10 am
thanks Tristan, that was my thinking too. As i talked through it with a colleague, it began to take shape as an innovation credit though. I can see some savings in water if using a standard drinking fountain as the baseline, since people stand there and let the water run while they are drinking...a lot, if not most of it goes downt he drain as they are drinking. If you compared that to filling a water bottle, there is very little waste, tyically you drink ALL the water that goes into a water bottle. also, by eliminating plastic water bottles in a building, you would eliminate a lot of waste to be hauled off-site. Even if the plastic water bottles get recycled, it still is cost to haul it off, and there is a cost to recycling them too. just a thought. anyone tried this?? i know in the high education world, a lot of Universities are going to these bottle fillers for environmental reasons.
Tristan Roberts
RepresentativeVermont House of Representatives
LEEDuser Expert
11477 thumbs up
May 9, 2013 - 11:23 am
I think they're great solutions. However, I am not fully convinced that you can claim savings for a filling station over a water fountain. I think they are different fixture types. And refilling a bottle saves packaging compared to getting a new bottle, and saves water compared to slurping from a fountain, but you had to have that bottle to begin with, and that took energy and resources.It could contribute to an innovation credit, but keep in mind the rule of thumb that a single technology generally cannot earn an innovation point. I would look at it in the context of comprehensive waste reduction.
Sara Zoumbaris
Sustainable Design Consulting30 thumbs up
December 1, 2014 - 12:58 pm
Norma,
Did you go through with using the bottle filling station for an ID credit? Any follow-up is appreciated!
Tracy Marquis
Owner/ArchitectMarquis Architecture
6 thumbs up
July 20, 2017 - 3:21 pm
Norma- Hello! I too want to know if you went through with this? If I recall correctly, it is a viable ID credit within the 3.0 system, but I can't find any proof.