FAQ: Can Waterless Urinals Really Save Water?
The answer is yes. But before we debate how waterless urinals save water, we’ve got to say the following are guesstimates. The amount typically quoted is that one waterless urinal can result in 35,000 gallons of water saved per year.
However, the amount of water saved when waterless urinals are installed can vary as a result of several factors, starting with where they are installed. Are the waterless urinals located in the men’s restroom of a bar or restaurant? A school or library? An airport or convention center? A home?
A convention center may only be used half the year so the amount of water consumed by its urinals, even if there are many large men’s restrooms in the facility, may differ considerably from the amount consumed in a busy restaurant/bar frequented seven days a week throughout the year. So, where waterless urinals are installed¾and how often they are used¾can cause water consumption to vary.
With that in mind, here are some figures typically used to guestimate how much water is used by a traditional water-using urinal. We can turn that around to show how waterless urinals save water:
· In an office with one urinal and 25 male workers, one urinal may use approximately 50,000 gallons of water per year.
· A restaurant with three urinals and an average of 150 male customers per day will use at least 72,000 gallons of water annually.
· An educational facility with 10 urinals and 300 male students can use as much as 330,000 gallons of water per school year (approximately 185 days).*
So to determine just how much water we might be able to save, let’s create the following scenario. Let’s assume we have an office building with 10 men’s restrooms and a total of 30 urinals. Instead of 25 male workers, we have 250 male employees working in this office building every day. The amount of saved water annually if waterless urinals are installed in this building would be approximately 1,500,000 gallons.
That’s a lot of saved water. You can easily see why so many facilities, looking either for ways to reduce water consumption and become more water efficient or seeking LEED-certification, consider installing waterless urinals as one of their first steps. Very often, waterless urinals save enough water for the facility to receive credits for water efficiency.
We should also note that when this much water is saved, it can prove to be a real cost savings for a facility. First there are the costs for the water from the water utility company. But there are also costs to provide water to the facility and remove it. These costs have jumped dramatically around the country in the past few years. And, another cost that is often overlooked is the cost of electricity, required to deliver and remove water.
These rates are typically worked into the water bill so you probably do not even notice them. However, the more water that is consumed in your facility, the more electricity is needed to deliver and remove it, which also impacts the size of your water bill.
So, we have answered your question: do waterless urinals really save water? The answer is yes, waterless urinals do save water. And we have pointed out something else; because waterless urinals save water, they can help lower operating costs as well.
For more information on how to reduce water consumption, waterless urinals, and use water more efficiently, please contact a Waterless Co representative.