metered showers

http://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=6493 If you follow the link, you'll find a conversion done for faucets, which doesn't seem to make sense, but that's how the USGBC is treating metered faucets vs non-metered faucets at the moment. However I think you make a good case as well that the baseline is using x-amount of gallons, while your design case is using much less. Also the fact that people use three cycles seems to make sense rather than one cycle

Gustavo, To be on the safe side, since there is no baseline for metered showers, I would recommend converting gpc to gpm and assume a duration of 5 minutes. However, 1.2 gpc on a 30 second cycle is equivalent to 2.4gpm, whereas 1.2 gpc on a 40 second cycle is equivalent to 1.8gpm (big difference). You'll need to know the actual flow rate. You might be better off to use a non-metered low-flow showerhead. These are a couple options I have come across recently: http://www.thenaturalabode.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=4895&Category_Code=default&Store_Code=TNA http://store.wesgogreen.com/omni-shower-head.html Showerheads are a great way to get water savings. As one of my co-workers pointed out, the owner can always change them out later if he hates the low-flow. By that time, you have no control of (or responsibility for) water usage. Some low-flow shower heads actually feel the same or better than regular ones, though. They have come a long way. FYI: I am not an authority on LEED so don't take my answer as the final say. I am just making suggestions. Have fun! ; )

p171 BD&C userguide Table 2. Default Fixture Uses, by Occupancy Type has Showers as follows Private Shower @ 2.5 (gpm) at 80 (psi) per shower stall — residential, duration 480 sec which gives 20 gpc and Public Shower @ 2.5 (gpm) at 80 (psi) per shower stall — duration 300 sec which gives 12.5 gpc These durations are used to calculate the water volumes used in any event, and although not explicitly a baseline for metering showers, would not be far from the mark. Write usgbc and ask if you could use this as the baseline for metered showers.

per cycle in context of this credit means per event or usage, meaning that the 3 cycles you used in your example per shower equate to one LEED "usage" cycle.