A reader asked if the process for water heater selection could be used for selecting a faucet. This column provides the process steps for selecting faucets, without discussing the findings in detail, as several resources are available for comparing faucet types.

When a plumbing engineer receives the design of a health care building — our minds gravitate to designing the system to optimize all the different considerations I mentioned above — with the fixture layout the architect has developed. But what if the layout changed? What if the amount of fixtures were reduced? 

Water scarcity is a growing issue globally. Some regions are adopting water reuse and rainwater capture solutions. Onsite water reuse can help save money, reduce water demands, and manage stormwater flows. With onsite water reuse, you can reuse up to 95% of a building's wastewater.

Introducing Safe Shower's new showerhead that minimizes the growth of biofilm and pathogens like Legionella. The showerhead circulates disinfectants like chlorine or UV water and uses UVC LED disinfectant approach that generates electricity using a tiny turbine.

The Water Demand Calculator has been adopted in several states and cities, including California and Seattle, and is expanding peak flow rate calculations into commercial buildings. The future looks bright as version 3.0 is in the works for commercial buildings.

By combining water heating with space heating through heat pumps, a synergy is achieved that maximizes efficiency. This dual functionality is particularly relevant given the constant demand for hot water in residential, commercial and industrial settings.

My house water heater recently failed. I want to replace it with something more efficient, like a heat pump. The easiest path would be to replace it with the exact same type. What would you do if you had a similar scenario with a client or project?

Finding, training, and retaining employees will continue to be a challenge moving into next year. With many homeowners still feeling the pinch of inflation, contractors will notice that more potential customers are price-shopping.

How can we attract the next generation of young designers and engineers to join our industry, and how can we keep the ones already in?

What do the 3-model codes, UPC (Uniform Plumbing Code), IPC (International Plumbing Code) and NSPC (National Standard Plumbing Code), have to say on the subject?