Water Efficiency Calculations

[Grosey]

I wanted to start a thread on this but I'm not entirely sure what my question is just yet. I understand the general theory of what this certificate is all about, but does anyone have any details of how this has worked for them in reality and if it has affected any of their decision making?

 

Ive look at a couple of online calculators and it looks to be quite an in depth process!

[joe90]

I too am interested in this, my architect has not mentioned it's requirement ( yet)!

[Ferdinand]

Having taken the time to read the relevant building regs document (G?), I am a little doubtful about its efficacy..

 

My initial impressions are:

 

1 - The model and calculations suggested are only tangentially related to actual water usage in the future.

2 - The calculator looks like a over complicated, mainly disfunctional, zombified hangover from the Code for Sustainable Homes, and like the CFSH requires certain decisions to be made at a time which is not sensible - for example it makes the rating of your house dependent on the type of washing machine you choose to install. (rant) That is simply stupid, and is founded in a politico-bureaucratic regulatory desire for micro-control of our lives which has been pushed beyond the realistic. I don't want to make this political, but our Govt in the 2000s did have an addiction to microcontrol, checkboxes and "Tractor Statistics"; that poison has not yet been rooted out sufficiently. (/rant)

3 - The model admits that it cannot be an effective measure of future water usage.

4 - The relationship between consumption and occupancy is not clear. ie If you tell them there will be 3 not 2 people living in the house, does it help?

5 - I can see some sense in eg limitation of flow rate of a tap, use of aerating fixtures etc, basic limitation of washer use per kg of washing, but they have gone too far in their desire for control.

 

However, it is in the regs, and with the regs we are required to comply, so

 

1 - I think a brief conversation (email: you get a written record) with Building Control is indicated to find out if they have adopted locally the tighter option.

2 - The easy way is to take The Red Pill - which is a "fittings approach", if you can meet the limits. It may be worth fitting cheap, compliant items, and replacing later rather than enter the nether world of the Water Efficiency Calculator.

3 - If you take The Blue Pill, then I think the way will be to have a Water Efficiency Calculator spreadsheet (which must be available somewhere), and keep it as a living document during the relevant stages of your design.

4 - Take care on the amount of detail you give to official people.

 

The process looks flexible enough that you can adjust what you do to meet the requirements in several ways.

 

Not sure how you would get one of those two person "Gent plus Geisha" Japanese wooden baths with seats past the "185 litre to overflow" limit, though - perhaps a complaint against the regs to the Equalities Commission on the basis of Race Discrimination. Or include two overflows, the lower one fitted with a cork.

 

Ferdinand

 

Edited August 5, 2016 by Ferdinand

[Grosey]

Hahaha, well that clears things up. My summary of all that is... It's complete nonsense and I'll have to speak to my building control to see what sort of attention I need to give to it?

[Ferdinand]

24 minutes ago, Grosey said:

Hahaha, well that clears things up. My summary of all that is... It's complete nonsense and I'll have to speak to my building control to see what sort of attention I need to give to it?

 

You probably want to leaven my skepticism with experience from some people who have actually done it :-) .

 

F

[Tennentslager]

I think we have been spared this in glorious Scotia *hopes he does* since we have an abundance of the wet stuff.

In the future I see Victorian scale infrastructure projects pumping fresh highland water to the south in exchange for tariff free imports of fine crockery complete with images of young George the cute.

Water may well be the new oil..I'm serious???

 

[Ferdinand]

2 hours ago, Tennentslager said:

I think we have been spared this in glorious Scotia *hopes he does* since we have an abundance of the wet stuff.

In the future I see Victorian scale infrastructure projects pumping fresh highland water to the south in exchange for tariff free imports of fine crockery complete with images of young George the cute.

Water may well be the new oil..I'm serious???

 

If we took it seriously I suspect a lot could be done ... Compulsory meters everywhere for a start, never mind agricultural use.

 

And then there's the small matter of embedded water .. Eg imported in fresh flowers.

 

Ferdinand

 

[ProDave]

I think we should only agree to export our precious water, if we also export our also abundant surplus of midges. Seems a fair trade to me.

 

Speaking as someone where we never have a shortage of water, and measures to save it are just nonsense. I would hate to be restricted to a particular folow rate of water for a shower for instance, logic just says it would take longer to rinse the shampoo out of your hair (not very long in my case) so would not actually save any water. And as for  low volume cisterns, what good if it needs several flushes to clear the "items" there is nothing wrong with the old fashioned dual flush, where you can choose a low volume flush where appropriate.

 

If I was forced to implement flow restrictors etc I would make it well known to my BC officer that as soon as I had the completion certificate that they would be removed, and I would continue using water in a responsible way.