Water Efficiency
Water efficiency in buildings requires a set of strategies for reducing water consumption.
Water-saving appliances and fixtures are an inexpensive (often cost-neutral) way to achieve greater efficiency. Rainwater or graywater reuse and even blackwater treatment are ways to push the envelope.
Water Efficiency
Deep Dives
Get up to speed on complex topics. You can also earn CEUs and download PDF Spotlight Reports.
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Water: Doing More With Less
Feature
The U.S. uses about 400 billion gallons of water a day, and water shortages are becoming more common. Water-saving products and technologies, some currently on the market and others in development, can reduce that wasteful flow to a trickle.
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Alternative Water Sources: Supply-Side Solutions for Green Buildings
Feature
Water efficiency should be a top priority for our buildings. At the same time, finding alternative sources of water is also important for sustainability and passive survivability. Several sources of water can be harvested at the building level as well as through municipal-scale wastewater treatment and desalination.
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Water Policies: Encouraging Conservation
Feature
Conserving water goes beyond building design and technology. Water use is governed by federal, state, and local policies, from maximum flow requirements to pricing structures that encourage or discourage conservation.
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Cost-Effective Green Retrofits: Opportunities for Savings in Existing Buildings
Feature
Between lighting, water use, mechanical systems, the building envelope, and occupant health, existing buildings are rife with cost-effective retrofits and operational opportunities that also offer environmental benefits. Improvements range from the painfully obvious to the more complex and involved.
Quick Takes
Jump straight to the essentials with these short explanations of green building concepts.
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Graywater Collection and Use
Explainer
If properly stored and separated from potable water, graywater collected from sinks, showers, and clothes washers can be used to irrigate landscaping.
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Constructed Wetlands for Wastewater
Explainer
Constructed wetlands, when used to treat wastewater, can keep nitrogen and phosphorous from the water supply and cut costs by controlling the size of drainfields.
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Water Budgets: A Holistic Look at Efficiency
Explainer
Developing a water budget for a building can identify opportunities for savings that might otherwise go unnoticed.
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Power Flushing With Pressure-Assist Toilets
Explainer
Many of today's best-performing low-flow toilets enhance their flush with air pressure to force water into the bowl at high speed.
Product Guidance
Unbiased information from our product experts helps you separate green from greenwash.
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Composting Toilet Systems
Product Guide
Composting toilets are not for every project, but they do warrant consideration.
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Faucets
Product Guide
Bathroom faucets and aerators with a flow rate of 1.0 gpm or less, plus other unique water-saving tech
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Toilets
Product Guide
These residential and commercial models meet WaterSense criteria for efficiency and performance.
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Urinals
Product Guide
Waterless urinals and high-efficiency fixtures that use 0.25 gallons per flush or less
In The News
We break news down to the essentials and provide expert analysis.
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News on the Toilet Testing Front
News Analysis
Veritec Consulting has redesigned its toilet-performance testing protocol to save soybean paste, and a new system helps consumers identify toilets that save water and flush well.
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California Bill Would Mandate High-Efficiency Toilets
News Analysis
A bill working its way through the California Legislature could reduce the maximum water consumption for toilets sold in the state to 1.3 gallons per flush.
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EPA Introduces WaterSense Label
News Analysis
In June 2006, EPA announced the launch of WaterSense, its new water-efficiency program, similar to its successful Energy Start energy-efficiency program.
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The Return of Mister Miser
News Analysis
Twenty years after its debut, the Mister Miser urinal has been reintroduced.
Perspective
Thought-provoking opinions from the most trusted minds in sustainability.
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Bringing Water Back into the Discussion
Op-Ed
Most Americans treat freshwater as if it were limitless and free, even as water shortage is becoming a reality in many areas of the United States. But there are many cost-effective ways to reduce that consumption.
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Water: The Back Seat Driver
Blog Post
Welcome to our new blog dedicated to the issues of water, water efficiency, and water policy.
Learning Resources
Syllabus supplements and CEU content, with automatic reporting for AIA and GBCI.
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On-demand Webinar- Rainwater Management and LEED: Strategies to Protect Ecosystems and Communities
Webcast
In this webinar, we will review the LEED v4 and v4.1 BD+C Rainwater Management credits and discuss how real project teams are approaching and implementing successful management strategies.
