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comment Zurn Offers Urinal With a Pint-Sized Flush
For years, the standard urinal in the U.S. has used 1.0 gallons of water per flush (gpf), as per the Energy Policy Act of 1992. Although a few urinals that use 0.5 gpf or less are available, many green building teams have preferred to specify non-flushing, or waterless, urinals to conserve water. A new product, the Z5798 EcoVantage High Efficiency Urinal System from Zurn Industries, which flushes with an eighth of a gallon, signals new strength in the market for environmentally friendly flushing urinals.
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To perform effectively with only a pint-sized flush, the EcoVantage urinal, although it appears fairly conventional, is a completely redesigned model. “It was absolutely necessary to attack this design as a system solution,” Zurn’s Sean Martin said. “We had to concurrently design an accurate valve and urinal. The urinal has been designed to optimize distribution of the mere 16 ounces of water, providing a sanitary rinse and complete water exchange,” he said.
Martin noted that the urinal meets the same ASME A112.19.2 and CSA-B45-02 performance criteria required in the U.S. and Canada, respectively, for 1.0 gpf urinals. The urinal is listed with the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO), where it was tested. It uses hands-free sensor technology, powered by four AA batteries good for 200,000 flushes, according to Martin. An in-line, cleanable water filter protects the valve. Offering 85 percent savings over 1.0 gpf urinals, Zurn’s model could conserve more than 30,000 gallons of water yearly in a typical application.
A variety of configurations are available, including new installations, retrofits, and installations meeting Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility guidelines and ANSI A117.1 requirements. Although Zurn is taking orders, and says that it has logged considerable demand, the urinal is not yet available for sale, and customers will likely have to wait a few months for it. Martin said that although discounts would be available for high-volume orders, the contractor price for small quantities would be in the $600 range. This makes it a relatively expensive product, but it can offer a quick payback depending on local water and sewer rates.
In contrast to the fact that many toilets on the market are more efficient than the federal water conservation standard, only a handful of flushing urinals have gone below their respective federal standard. That’s about to change, says John Koeller, an engineer and principal of Koeller and Company in Yorba Linda, California. “One gallon is way more water than is needed to flush a urinal, no question,” he said. “In 2007 we’ll probably see no less than two other companies with products that flush with a quart or less.” Koeller had not yet tested the Zurn model, but he’s familiar with the technology. “They use more of a spray to wash down the sides rather than the conventional way of dumping a lot of water down the side of the urinal. Some manufacturers are reducing the size,” he said, noting that American urinals tend to be larger than those elsewhere.
Because the product is so new, independent users contacted by EBN could only comment on limited experience with the urinal. Marty Laporte, manager of water resources for Stanford University, which is considering a major retrofit, said that there were no obvious problems so far from an installation or user satisfaction standpoint.
Zurn expects significant demand for its 1⁄8-gallon urinal. “From our experience selling the Zurn Z5795 water-free urinal system, we realize the general public understands water conservation quite well,” said Martin, “yet, they prefer a urinal system with a sanitary rinse.” Koeller agrees, saying he thinks “it will really kick the legs out from under the non-water urinal business.” According to Koeller, Seattle’s public utility has stopped offering rebates to installers of waterless urinals due to the high percentage of users who experience problems and remove them. Assuming that the EcoVantage proves effective, it will likely be included in the rebate programs of large utilities, said Koeller.
For more information:
Zurn Industries, Inc.
Commercial Brass Operations
Sanford, North Carolina
800-997-3876
www.zurn.comJohn Koeller, P.E.
Koeller and Company
Yorba Linda, California
714-777-2744
koeller@earthlink.net
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