3.2: Residential & Commercial Food Service Fixtures & Equipment

(20 points)

GREEN GLOBES #3.2 Green Globes provides two paths for assessing either residential plumbing fixtures or commercial food service equipment (as applicable): 

• Path A: Residential Plumbing Fixtures – up to 20 points 
• Path B: Commercial Food Service Equipment – up to 20 points

Points cannot be combined between paths. Please review and select the appropriate pathway for the project. Select N/A if neither path applies. 

• Path A (up to 20 points) 
• Path B (up to 20 points) 
• N/A

PATH A.

GREEN GLOBES #3.2.1.1 Do residential lavatory faucets conform to WaterSense®?

• Yes (5 points) 
• No (0 points) 
• N/A

Tooltip

Mark “N/A” where there are no lavatory faucets dedicated to the project space and/or they are centralized and not under control of the tenants.

GREEN GLOBES #3.2.1.2 Do residential kitchen faucets conform to WaterSense®? 

• Yes (8 points) 
• No (0 points) 
• N/A

Tooltip

Mark “N/A” where there are no residential kitchen faucets dedicated to the project space and/or they are centralized and not under control of the tenants.

Assessment Guidance

Plumbing engineers and architects for the project should specify plumbing fixtures that comply with the WaterSense® program. WaterSense® is a program that partners with the U.S. EPA in hopes to reduce water usage by providing information on water-efficient fixtures, new homes and services. WaterSense® created a certification program that provides third-party validation that plumbing fixtures utilize at least 20% less water than the average peer product without sacrificing performance. Products that go through this certification can display the WaterSense® label.

Currently, not all plumbing products can be certified through WaterSense®. The following items can be found with the label: 

• Lavatory faucets and accessories 
• Showerheads 
• Toilets
• Urinals 
• Weather-based irrigation controllers

Designers can verify with their fixture manufacturers which of their products have the label or can check online at http://www.epa.gov/watersense/product_search.html.

Early in the green building timeline, some building engineers were hesitant about using lower flow fixtures, especially toilets. It was feared the performance would not be comparable to its higher flow counterpart and that plumbing drain lines would get clogged more frequently. Unfortunately there was not sufficient industry data at the time to prove performance in existing buildings would not suffer. Finally, a study was conducted by the Plumbing Efficiency Research Coalition and a report released in November 2012. This report concluded that the use of 1.28 gallons per flush (gpf) toilets perform similar to 1.6 gpf when all other factors, including pipe slope, are considered.

Large advances have been made in plumbing fixture design and users can be more confident that the low-flow/high efficiency products on today’s market have been tried and tested. However, this is not to say that all products perform alike. Designers should carefully consider which products to use and weigh the anticipated use, ease of maintenance, warranties, and published performance criteria for all fixtures. Once a decision has been made, the required maximum flow and flush rates should be called out for the project on the design drawings (in a plumbing fixture schedule) or in the specifications.

When specifying lower flow fixtures, there are some recommended design tips that should be considered to ensure the plumbing drainage system is easy to maintain and kept clear of blockages. First, drain lines for low flow toilets should be sloped at 2% (standard is 1%). Second, toilets should be placed at the end of the drain line, with low flow urinals and lavatory faucets placed closer to the riser.

Waterless urinals are available for even greater water savings but some authorities having jurisdiction do not allow their use and they should only be used in applications where the special trap fluid will be adequately maintained.

Public lavatory faucets should be kept to 0.5 gallons per minute or less and metering faucets with a flow rate of less than 0.25 gallons per 10 second cycle.

For the review, the Green Globes Assessor will be looking for published fixture flush and flow rates for all plumbing fixtures utilized in the design. The assessor will also verify that these fixtures were installed during Stage II with spot checking.

GREEN GLOBES #3.2.1.3 Do residential clothes washers have an ENERGY STAR® label and a maximum water factor of 6.0 gal/ft3 (23 L/m3 ) per full cycle? 

• Yes (3 points)
• No (0 points) 
• N/A

Tooltip

Mark “N/A” where there are no clothes washers dedicated to the project space and/or they are centralized and not under control of the tenants.

Assessment Guidance

The Green Globes Assessor will be looking for published water use rates and ENERGY STAR® labeling for all clothes washers in the design.

GREEN GLOBES #3.2.1.4 Are residential dishwashers have an ENERGY STAR® label and a maximum water factor of 5.8 gal/ft3 (22 L/m3 ) per full cycle? 

• Yes (4 points) 
• No (0 points) 
• N/A

Tooltip

Mark “N/A” where there are no dishwashers dedicated to the project space and/or they are centralized and not under control of the tenants.

Assessment Guidance

The Green Globes Assessor will be looking for published water use rates and ENERGY STAR® labeling for all residential dishwashers in the design.

PATH B.

GREEN GLOBES #3.2.2.1 Do food services avoid water intensive equipment by having no water-fed garbage disposal? 

• Yes (5 points) 
• No (0 points) 
• N/A

Tooltip

Mark “N/A” where there are no garbage disposals.

Assessment Guidance

A number of food service establishments are eliminating water-fed garbage disposals in favor of more thorough scraping into garbage cans and the use of “scrapper baskets” or strainers to collect food and scraps for solid waste disposal.

GREEN GLOBES #3.2.2.2 Do the following appliances meet the prescribed limits for water usage:

Assessment Guidance

Standard combination ovens and steamers can use up to 40 gallons of water per hour regardless of whether the oven is being used or not. Much of this water goes straight down the drain. Boilerless combination ovens can deliver the same quality as standard models but use a fraction of the water.

Commercial kitchen pre-rinse spray valves should be specified to use 1.5 gpm or less and meet ASTM F2323-03. Pre-rinse spray valves should also be chosen that can be easily taken apart and cleaned. This will increase operational life and ease of maintenance.

Commercial dishwashers are very different than residential models. Their run times are around 1 to 3 minutes and one machine can handle hundreds of loads per day, so even a small decrease in water usage per load results in substantial savings. ENERGY STAR® labeled dishwasher requirements vary by machine type, and they have high and low temperature efficiency requirements. The label covers conveyor machines and stationary rack machines.

GREEN GLOBES #3.2.2.2.1 Combination ovens or steamers consume 2 gal/hr. (7.6 L/hr.) or less? 

• Yes (3 points) 
• No (0 points) 
• N/A

Tooltip

Mark “N/A” where there are no combination ovens.

GREEN GLOBES #3.2.2.2.2 Pre-rinse spray valves for dish-rinsing consume 1.5 gal/min (5.7 L/min) or less? 

• Yes (8 points) 
• No (0 points) 
• N/A

Tooltip

Mark “N/A” where there is no pre-rinsing.

GREEN GLOBES #3.2.2.2.3 Dishwashers consume 1.5 gal/rack/cycle (6 L/cycle) or less? 

• Yes (4 points) 
• No (0 points) 
• N/A

Tooltip

Mark “N/A” where there is no dishwashers.

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