July 23, 2018 - Plumbing & Restrooms
By Moosa Adams
One of the prime concerns in the construction of public buildings in the modern age is making sure that the project’s environmental impact is as small and manageable as possible. While this can result in additions such as wind turbines and smart shutters, other, less glamorous areas of the building need to be considered too — such as making the public bathrooms green and energy efficient. This is also true for existing building renovation projects. Here are three steps facility managers should consider implementing to save water and energy.
A high-footfall public bathroom is going to produce a lot of paper waste, so switching toilet paper provider to a recycled brand is a substitution that will reduce the impact your bathroom will have on the environment. Along the same lines, utilizing recycled materials in the construction of the bathroom itself, such as responsibly sourced recycled wood and plastic, is a great large-scale green consideration.
Advances in the design of bathroom taps means that the amount of water used for hand-washing can be massively reduced from previous decades. Utilizing modern technology such as thermostatic mixer taps could mean a huge reduction in your building’s environmental impact, as well as a reduction in your water costs, which is always welcome.
This type of tap works by aerating the water, giving the same cleaning sensation while using a lot less water — so users of your building won’t know any different. In addition, installing flow limiters and low-flow toilets is another consideration that can win big with regards to hitting eco-friendliness targets, and you should always make sure that the products you’re bulk ordering are high-quality, industry-accredited fixtures.
Another aspect that will help to reduce your building’s impact is swapping out energy-intensive hand driers for more efficient units. The most popular types of dryer used in eco-friendly buildings utilize high-pressure air to push water off your hands, rather than using more energy heating them up.
In terms of lighting a space like a public bathroom, LEDs are your friends. Easy to install, simple to maintain, and cost-effective, they’re ideal for a large publically-used building.
Bright LEDs installed into the ceiling gives a public bathroom a feeling of safety and security Lighting dictates how people react to a room, a principle that extends from stage shows to public bathrooms.
Moosa Adam works at 1 Click Bathrooms.
