American Standard FloWise
urinals - such as the Washbrook model that uses either .125 or .5 gallon per
flush - now meet EPA WaterSense program requirements for high performance and
water efficiency. Photo courtesy of American Standard.
American Standardannounced today that its high-efficiency urinals and flush-valve options meet or exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense program requirements for high performance and water efficiency, making it the first major plumbing manufacturer to meet these rigorous requirements.
The EPA’s WaterSense programrequires commercial urinals to use no more than 0.5 gallon per flush - 50 percent lower than the current federal standard of 1.0 gpf - while also meeting such performance standards as flush effectiveness and post-flush seal restoration.
The American Standard line of high efficiency urinals, which features FloWise water-saving technology, exceeds these requirements, operating between 0.5 gpf and 0.125 gpf, thereby cutting water use by as much as 87 percent.
The designation marks the WaterSense program’s first nonresidential plumbing product specification aimed at helping commercial and institutional facility managers identify high-performing, water-efficient product solutions.
“With this new WaterSense program specification, contractors, engineers, architects, owners and developers, as well as their facility teams, can easily distinguish products that meet best in-class performance and water conservation criteria,” explainedJeremy Cressman, vice president and general manager, commercial trade, for American Standard.
He added that WaterSense-certified urinals and urinal systems - such as American Standard’s Washbrook, Allbrook and Selectronic flush-valves, and Crane-brand urinals including the Eco Richmond and Eco Crawford - will “drastically” reduce water consumption in commercial restrooms, without sacrificing style or performance.
According to the EPA, approximately 65 percent of the estimated 12 million urinals in the United States are inefficient. While the current federal standard for commercial urinals is 1.0 gpf, the agency notes that some older urinals use as much as 5.0 gpf, which is 90 percent more water than used by the new American Standard high efficiency urinals and flush valves.
Replacing just one older, inefficient urinal that uses 1.5 gpf with a WaterSense-certified model could save a facility approximately 4,600 gallons of water a year. Nationwide, if all older, inefficient urinals were replaced, nearly 45 billion gallons of water could be saved annually - enough to supply 450,000 households for a year, estimates the EPA.
Certification of the American Standard and Crane urinal products was independently verified by the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials’ research and testing laboratory, in accordance with the EPA’s WaterSense program requirements.
American Standard offers a full range of water-saving plumbing products for homes and buildings, searchable atwww.responsiblebathroom.com. Site tools include a calculator to estimate the potential savings in water and utility bills using local municipal water rate data, as well as a rebate locator to find local incentives for purchasing water efficient products.
For more information on FloWise urinals or other WaterSense-certified products from American Standard, visit www.americanstandard.comor call 800/899-2614.
Source: American Standard
