The Client
Nottingham City Council is a UK leader in local government sustainability and has made the commitment to become the first carbon neutral city in the country, reaching this target by 2028.
The Brief
As part of its overall sustainability strategy, the council investigated ways to implement improvements in public facilities and its Head of Sustainability contacted SaveMoneyCutCarbon to develop a water-saving project for the city centre public washroom amenities in Greyhound Street.
SaveMoneyCutCarbon has extensive expertise and knowledge in delivering water-efficiency projects throughout the UK, in motorway services, colleges and schools, and the hospitality sector.
The council wanted to explore the potential for installation of Propelair low-flush toilets and seek advice on other savings.
The Challenges
The Greyhound Street facilities are heavily used so any works would need to be completed quickly and efficiently, as well as complying fully with regulations, while delivering optimal reductions in water usage, within a careful budget.
As a busy public washroom, the need for toilets with robust construction to withstand heavy daily usage was paramount, together with the requirement for highest levels of hygiene.
The Solution
SaveMoneyCutCarbon has worked with a range of public and private sector organisations on hundreds of water-efficiency projects, saving over 765 million litres of water to date, with ongoing reductions in usage.
The SaveMoneyCutCarbon team carried out a full survey of the facilities and specified the installations of 19 Propelair Close to Flush toilets in both male and female washrooms and fitting 17 Grohe Bau Cosmopolitan battery-powered sensor taps.
The SaveMoneyCutCarbon team installed flush counters to track toilet usage prior, identifying an average of 54 flushes per toilet per day. The project was carried out during Covid lockdown and it is estimated that flush-count will be double this in normal conditions. A drain clean was also carried out before installation.
The Propelair Close to Flush is the latest version of the unique ultra-low flow toilet with a 1.5 litre flush that reduces water use on average by 84%.
It is one of the most hygienic toilets on the market, as it can only be flushed with the lid closed, preventing aerosolised germs being sprayed into the air. Closing the lid will flush the toilet automatically so there is no need to touch a flush button. The close to flush operation reduces airborne germs by 95%.
The toilet also has instructional messaging on the handle to educate first-time users on how to operate. The handle is treated with Steritouch, an antimicrobial additive that inhibits bacterial growth over the full lifetime of the latch. The latch is treated with a durable lacquer that prevents the messaging fading – ideal for high usage commercial environments like the Greyhound Street amenities.
An additional environmental benefits is that the toilet delivers an 80% reduction in carbon emissions.
Further water reductions have been achieved with the Grohe Bau Cosmopolitan sensor taps. The cost-effective touchless tap is made from carbon fibre, so is lightweight but ideal for commercial use as it can hold up to 50 tonnes of weight.
It features an infra-red sensor that detects hand movement, running water only when necessary. With Grohe EcoJoy technology it also limits water flow to 5.7 litres per minute, maximising water savings.
The Grohe sensor tap has 7 pre-set programmes, a multistage battery display with 6V battery included, with a lifetime of around 7 years. The Grohe StarLight chrome finish is hardwearing, ensuring many years of easy-clean use.
Hygiene is also optimised as the infra-red technology means there’s no need to touch the tap and it has a non-return valve, thermal disinfection system, cleaning mode and dirt strainers. The clever cleaning mode is activated by covering the bottom of the sensor with a thumb, which temporarily locks the water flow, making this tap simple to clean and maintain.
Results
Propelair toilet
- ROI – 3.8 years
- Water savings p.a. – 2,439,458 litres of water
- Carbon emissions reduction – 1.02 tonne CO2
Grohe sensor taps
- ROI – 1.12 years