Urinals are the first commercial product slated for
WaterSense labeling.
The
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense program announced its first
product labeling effort for commercial building products with the release of a draft
specification for high-efficiency flushing urinals.
WaterSense
has developed a draft specification for labeling those urinals that are 50
percent more efficient than the current federal standard of 1.0 gallons per
flush. To ensure adequate performance, urinals must comply with existing
standards for flushing urinals, and need to be tested for trap seal restoration
and flush effectiveness before they can earn the WaterSense label.
EPA
is collecting public comments on its draft efficiency and performance specification
for flushing urinals, with plans to offer the WaterSense label for these
fixtures later in 2009 with the release of the final specification. Comments are
due to EPA March 9, 2009.
EPA estimates that about
80 percent of the estimated 12 million urinals in-use in the United States are
old and inefficient. Nationwide, if all older, inefficient urinals were
replaced, we could save nearly 45 billion gallons of water annually.
For
more information, visit theWaterSense Web site.