by Shane Henson — September 25, 2013—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced earlier this week that it has finalized the first WaterSense specification for a commercial kitchen product—pre-rinse spray valves. WaterSense, a partnership program sponsored by the EPA, seeks to protect the future of the nation’s water supply by offering people a simple way to use less water with water-efficient products, whether at home or in the workplace.
According to the EPA, restaurants and commercial kitchens are one of the highest energy consumers in commercial buildings, using approximately five to eight times more energy per square foot than other commercial spaces. Outfitting a kitchen with WaterSense-labeled pre-rinse spray valves, along with ENERGY STAR-certified food service products, will save energy and water, says the agency.
The EPA stresses that if every U.S. commercial food service establishment installed and used these spray valves, the United States could save more than 10 billion gallons of water, more than $225 million in water and energy costs, and prevent the equivalent of 900,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions. Of course, facilities managers who choose WaterSense products will find themselves helping their company save money in addition to helping the nation’s water supply.
Like all WaterSense labeled products, pre-rinse spray valves that earn the label must be independently certified for efficiency and performance. Working in conjunction with industry stakeholders, the EPA specifies a maximum flow rate for WaterSense-labeled pre-rinse spray valves of 1.28 gallons per minute, 20 percent less water than the federal standard. To ensure that these fixtures will work well and meet the demands of high-volume kitchens while using less water, the EPA also includes spray force performance criteria and a requirement for life cycle testing for the products to earn the WaterSense label.
“Pre-rinse spray valves can account for nearly one-third of the water used in a typical commercial kitchen,” said EPA Acting Administrator for Water Nancy Stoner. “Replacing just one of these fixtures with a WaterSense-labeled model can save a typical restaurant more than 7,000 gallons of water per year, the amount of water needed to wash nearly 5,000 racks of dishes.”
The EPA calculates that a restaurant that replaces just one pre-rinse spray valve with a WaterSense-labeled model could recoup its investment in four to eight months and save more than $115 per year on water and energy costs, depending on how its water is heated.
