Technologies to reduce consumption of water is the key to making a building more efficient

Water has become another big expense for property owners. This is true not only because of the amount of consumption, but also because of the price per gallon. Starting July 1, we will be paying a penny a gallon for water in N.Y.C. While this might sound cheap, keep in mind water has risen 80% since 2005. Mayor Bloomberg has given real estate owners a clear message. Find ways to conserve water in the hopes to pay less. With no hope of getting a reduction of the water rate, real estate owners must look into reducing usage and educating tenants. This can be done by investigating the use of low flow fixtures, rainwater/gray water systems and solar thermal than educating tenants about the matter. Low-Flow Fixtures The majority of the usage in a building can be attributed to tenant use. The idea is to give them the opportunity to use less through fixtures. Aggressive low-flow fixtures can dramatically reduce building water usage. Building owners need to demand the lowest flow possible available from their plumbing suppliers. There are products that are far superior in usage compared to products that are WaterSense certified. Some of them actually are twice as effective in terms of usage and performance, as ones more commonly marketed. Most of these fixtures are already being used by large facilities such as stadiums, parks and airports. If large facilities have done it, it would make sense to commercial property owners to look into aggressive fixtures to save the maximum amount of money. Rainwater/Graywater Every owner would like the opportunity to use water twice before it gets sent to the sewer. A rainwater system and a gray water system can accomplish that. Basically, rainwater systems are a stormwater catch system which brings rainwater from your roof to a holding tank. Once it is stored the water is used to flush toilets. A second set of risers and some piping are needed. The water is treated to make it almost potable. This is great to consider for retrofits and new construction. Gray water systems are more involved. You can reuse any water coming from showerheads and faucets. This water is held in a tank and is used for toilet flushing. This form of catch system is superior because you are not dependant on the rains. More piping is required so it would be difficult for retrofits but possible. New construction is a more suitable application for this type of system. These systems become valuable as water becomes more expensive and they help the reservoir in times of drought. Using this system insures that your building would be flushing for free. Solar Thermal Solar thermal does not reduce the amount of water being used, but it does address another problem for building owners. The amount of oil being used to heat water. Solar thermal is a great complimentary product which helps your boiler make hot water. The sun heats the solar panels on your roof. The heat transfers to a solution which gets pumped to a domestic water tank, heating the water to 105 degrees. The efficiency is what makes solar thermal so attractive. It works at an 80% efficiency, to PV's 14%. NYSERDA, an organization which gives money for green installations, among other things, will not subsidize solar thermal because it is too efficient. It also addresses a different problem than PV. Solar thermal units reduce oil and natural gas consumption. The payback on most Solar Thermal applications is around seven years. With many states expecting water shortages as soon as 2015, the price of water will only grow higher in the Tri-state area. Other city mandates will be coming into effect. Property owners will need to track their water usage and encourage tenants to save water. We have to make the tenants a part of the solution because they are ones using the water. We should educate them in the decisions we make to help conserve. It will excite them and might inspire them to start saving. Water conservation will become vital to the long term health of property owner's survival. Mark Bourbeau is the owner of GreenCents Solutions, Pelham, N.Y.