Tapmaster Model 1751 includes both a kick-plate and button activated by the cabinet door to turn the tap on and off. Photo: Tapmaster. Click on image to enlarge.

For the past eight years we've been able to turn our kitchen faucet on and off using a knee- and foot-control valve from the Canadian company Tapmaster. This may seem like a convenience-only product designed for lazy people. I can't argue with all of that--and admit that I probably wouldn't have installed one if I hadn't received it for testing from the manufacturer after we had reviewed a competing product in Environmental Building News. But I gotta say, I love it, and I'm convinced that it does result in significant water and energy savings.

Foot and knee controls for faucets have been used for decades in hospitals, where doctors and nurses don't want to risk re-contaminating their hands by touching the faucet handle after washing. Now these controls are making their way into high-end homes as a convenience feature (as are sensor-activated controls), and our company has recommended this type of product since our first review of a foot-control faucet in 1999 (log-in required to read full article).

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Alex Wilson, the founder of our company and our current executive editor (i.e., my boss), is being named the 2010 Hanley Award winner in a special event here at Greenbuild 2010 tomorrow. In recognition of this achievement, and to better understand how this innovative, always-curious visionary looks at the world, I recently asked him 10 questions. Here's the conversation.

Congratulations on being the 2010 winner of the Hanley Award. How would you sum up your feelings on this honor?

Thanks Tristan. It's a tremendous honor--and an honor for all of us at BuildingGreen. EBN, GreenSpec, LEEDuser and our other products are all group efforts from the whole company. I'm truly humbled to receive this award.

What are your thoughts on following Ed Mazria, FAIA in winning the Hanley Award?

That makes it even better. I have tremendous respect for Ed and what he's done to engage the design community as well as governments in the goal of reducing our carbon footprint. I knew Ed, though not well, when I lived in Santa Fe in the late '70s, and I have a well-worn copy of his Passive Solar Energy Book in my home library. He is a pioneer in the true sense of the word, and I'm deeply honored to be following Ed in receiving the Hanley Award.

You've built your reputation in part on taking stands on issues like dangers of treated wood, brominated flame retardants, and the global warming impact of some insulation products, while drawing attention to cool new ideas like passive survivability. What's a stand that you've taken that you wish had caught on more?

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This online calculator allows you to calculate how much condensate can be captured from an air conditioning system. Click on image to enlarge.

Back in 2008 when I wrote a series of articles for Environmental Building News on water (all three can be accessed with this link), one of those articles, Alternative Water Sources: Supply-Side Solutions for Green Buildings, examined various ways of harvesting water and included an in-depth look at collecting air conditioner condensate.

Here's an excerpt from that article on how that condensate is generated:

Cooling systems rely on evaporator coils through which refrigerant fluid changes from liquid to vapor, cooling the coils in the process. Air blowing past the coils cools off as it goes by, and moisture from the air condenses on the coils. Condensate drains carry away the water, usually into the sewer. Instead of wasting it, more and more buildings, especially in parts of the country with hot, humid summers, are capturing that condensate for reuse.

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Lake Mead, the nation's largest reservoir, which supplies 90% of Las Vegas's water and millions of other residents, shown at about half capacity in 2007. Ken Dewey photo. Click on image to enlarge.

Last week we examined the amount of energy it takes to transport and treat water--and how we can conserve energy by using less water. This week, we'll look at the inverse of that: how much water it takes to produce energy and how our energy conservation efforts reduce water use.

The water intensity of energy

Whenever water shortages loom anywhere, we hear about how much "embodied water" there is in various products. According to the Water Footprint Network, producing a slice of bread requires 11 gallons of water and producing a pound of beef takes 1,800 gallons. The same sort of analysis can be done with our energy sources. As with foods, different types of energy have different water intensities.

Electricity:

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Niagara uses innovative "vacuum-assist" hydraulics to provide an effective, yet super-quiet flush in the Stealth toilet, requiring just 0.8 gallons. By using less water, this toilet saves energy. Photo: Niagara Conservation. Click on image to enlarge

It takes a lot of energy to transport and treat water in this country, and it takes a lot of water to produce the energy we use. To put this a different way: when we save water we save energy, and when we save energy we save water.

Most people don't think about this tight-knit relationship between energy and water, but public officials in a growing number of regions around the country are becoming quite aware of it. This week, I'll examine how much energy it takes to move water and to treat both supply water and wastewater. Next week, I'll look at how much water is used in producing our energy.

The energy intensity of water:

The amount of energy needed to deliver clean water and treat that water once we've used it varies tremendously by region. If you live in southern California, your drinking water is pumped either from the Colorado River and its assorted reservoirs (including the nation's largest, Lake Mead, which is now half empty) or from northern California. In either case, that water flows through hundreds-of-miles-long open aqueducts and, via pipelines, up and over mountain ranges.

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The Waterless Company's new residential Baja urinal begins shipping this week. Photo: Waterless Company. Click on image to enlarge.

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You would think that establishing a definition for “showerhead” would be simple. But, as the Department of Energy (DOE) is discovering after issuing a draft interpretive rule on the matter, nothing is simple when it comes to getting people wet.

Some showerhead background
Back in early 1994, under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) of 1975, all showerheads manufactured in the U.S. could have a maximum flow no greater than 2.5 gallons per minute (gpm) at 80 psi. The intent, of course, was to save water, particularly hot water and its associated energy use.

Over the years, plumbing manufacturers have gotten pretty creative about how people can get wet in their showers or baths. In recent years, the trend has been toward “multi-spray” systems, which have up to six “showerheads” (each of which complies with the 2.5 gpm flow maximum) and “waterfalls,” which aren’t really “showerheads” and therefore aren’t subject to the requirement (see photo: this Kohler shower system has 8 separate showerheads, each one complying with the 2.5 gpm maximum). These systems can use up to 20 gallons of water per minute, just for one person. And even though the actual installation number for these DOE-dodging plumbing fixtures is relatively low, they represent an important, high-end product for plumbing manufacturers.

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Pressure-reducing valves, an element of EPA’s WaterSense® new homes specification, are green: they can save water, increase the service life of plumbing system components, and reduce risks of water leaks.

What is a Pressure Reducing Valve (PRV)?
PRVs have spring-loaded diaphragms that resist the incoming pressure of the water supply to a home. They are typically installed just after the water meter on the system side (see top photo: This basement photo, starting from the bottom, shows the insulated incoming water main, the single-throw main shut-off (red handle), the water meter, and the pressure reducing valve (set screw stem sticking out to the right). PRVs usually come set at 45 pounds per square inch (PSI) but have a set-screw adjustment so that the PRV’s range of operation is from approximately 30 to 80 psi. PRVs cost around $80; installation costs may double the total cost, depending on installation circumstances (new or existing home, location of incoming line, ease of shutting off water service to the home, etc.).

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EPA's new specification for water-efficient homes works well for all sorts of builders and even remodelers

Although EPA's criteria for WaterSense labeled new homes were only recently released, custom and production builders from Georgia to Arizona, from Montana to Hawaii, are signing up. With typical overall water savings of more than 20 percent compared to other homes, WaterSense homes are just that--sensible.A custom builder (and remodeler) perspective

"Water is the next big issue," says Bill Christopher, Secretary/Treasurer of ILM Design and Build, Inc in Wilmington, North Carolina. "While the energy issue is sucking the air out of the room--and there is nothing really wrong with that--we should be paying just as much attention to water."

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We dump a huge amount of water, chemicals, and money on lawns in America, and we spew lots of pollution into the air mowing them. There are some better options. One is to eliminate lawns. The other is to plant a lawn seed mix that doesn't need to be kept on life-support. Pearl's Premium lawn seed, developed by environmental activist Jackson Madnick with help of soil scientists, offers northern-climate landowners a much greener (!) option.

Pearl's Premium, named after Madnick's mother and his daughter, is available in two different mixes: a shady-site version, which is appropriate for lawns fully in the shade to 50% sun; and a sunny mix for sites with 50% sun to full sun. The shady mix consists of five different fescues (fescue is a type of grass), three of which are native and two "adaptive," to use Madnick's term. The sunny mix contains three of the fescues in the shady mix, plus a special deep-rooted adaptive bluegrass and an adaptive ryegrass.

There are four important benefits of Pearl's Premium turf compared with conventional Kentucky bluegrass turf:

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