Green Building Design Guide

Air-Conditioned Buildings

3. WATER EFFICIENCY

Singapore has limited water resources. It is important to encourage both domestic and non-domestic consumers to use
water efficiently.

Singapore’s domestic per capita water consumption has reduced from 165 litres /day in 1999 to 160 litres /day in 2005.
This is achieved partly through a series of community outreach programmes conducted by Public Utilities Board (PUB)
such as:

• Water Efficient Homes Programme

• Water Efficient Buildings Programme
• Water conservation talks and exhibitions
• Installation of dual flush low capacity flushing cisterns (LCFCs)
• Installation of thimbles/constant flow regulators at water fittings

3.1. WATER EFFICIENT FITTINGS

With effect from end Oct 2006, PUB will launch water efficient labelled fittings with ratings shown in Table 6.

Table 6: Water Efficient Labelled Fittings

FITTINGS GOOD RATING VERY GOOD RATING EXCELLENT RATING

Shower Taps, Mixers & >7 to 9 >5 to 7 5 or less
Showerheads (L/min)
Basin Taps & Mixers >4 to 6 >2 to 4 2 or less
(L/min)
Sink/Bib Taps (L/min) >6 to 8 >4 to 6 4 or less
Flushing Cisterns – Dual >4.0 - 4.5 (full flush) >3.5 to 4.0 (full flush) 3.5 or less (1) (full flush)
Flush Type (L/flush) > 2.5 -3.0 (low flush) > 2.5 – 3.0 (low flush) 2.5 or less (low flush)
Urinals & Urinal Flush Valve > 1.0 to 1.5 > 0.5 to 1.0 0.5 or less (2)
(L/flush) Or waterless urinals
(1) To pass laboratory simulation test on waste transportation efficiency in pipe. Source: PUB
(2) To pass dilution test.

Points will be awarded for buildings applying for Green Mark Scheme based on water efficient labelled fittings with
ratings (see Table 6) as follows:

Up to 6 points Up to 4 points Up to 2 points

(if comply with all ratings stated (if comply with all ratings stated (if comply with all ratings stated
below) below) below)
For hotel
Basin taps Excellent Excellent Good
Flushing cisterns Good Good Good
Showers Good Good Good
Sink/bib taps Very Good Very Good Good
All other water fittings Excellent Very Good Good
For all other non domestic premises
Basin taps Excellent Excellent Good
Flushing cisterns Good Good Good
Showers Very Good Very Good Good
Sink/bib taps Very Good Very Good Good
All other water fittings Excellent Very Good Good
3.1.1. WATER EFFICIENT FLUSHING SYSTEM

Dual flush low capacity flushing cisterns should be used. Each flushing should use 4.5 litres or less of water for a full flush
and less than 3 litres for a half flush.

Urinal flush valves that use not more than 0.5 litres of water per flush should be used. This is the recommended flush
volume for standard size urinal of 300mm width.

Dual Flush LCFCs Urinal Flush valve – 0.5 litres flush volume

3.1.2. WATER EFFICIENT FIXTURES

PUB had conducted a pilot project and found that a flow rate of 2 litres/min at the wash basin taps in staff and public
toilets is sufficient for normal washing purpose. The lower flow rate will help to reduce water consumption and save on
the water bills.

Sensor taps with a flow rate of 2 litres/min can also be installed. These taps should also cut off water supply when the
hands are removed from under the tap, or when the preset timing of 30 or 60 seconds is reached, whichever is earlier.
Self-closing taps also help to prevent running tap after use. A combination of regulators and self-closing taps can achieve
significant savings.

Some good examples of water efficient fixtures are shown below:

Install self-closing delayed action taps (timing of between Install self-closing delayed action shower tap (timing not
2 and 3 secs) at all wash basins. The flow rate should be exceeding 15 secs) at all showers. The flow rate should
2 litres/min. not exceed 7 litres/min (except for hotels).

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Air-Conditioned Buildings

3. WATER EFFICIENCY

Install constant flow regulators and adjust flow rate to Flow rate can be reduced by simple method such as
less than 6 litres/min for all bib taps and sink/ kitchen fixing thimbles or constant flow regulators
taps.

3.1.3. WATER EFFICIENCY LABELS

Use water fittings with Water Efficiency Labels.

3.2. WATER EFFICIENT LANDSCAPING

3.2.1. WATER EFFICIENT PLANTS

Where applicable, use drought resistant plants or plants that fit naturally into the existing climatic conditions including
rainfall and temperature pattern and require little irrigation.

The amount of turf area should be limited as most turf grasses need a lot of water and require continual upkeep.

Group plants by their water needs such as plants that need high, moderate or little to no irrigation rather than by appearance
or functions.

Draught resistant plants Limit turf area

3.2.2. IRRIGATION

Recycled water, NEWater or rainwater should be used for irrigation.

Use rainwater for irrigation POINTS TO NOTE

• Collecting rainwater • Developers can build rainwater collection systems

to collect rainwater in their premises. This applies
to premises located within water catchments as
well as those outside water catchments.

• Waterborne fees may be charged as the used

rainwater that is discharged into sewers will
require proper treatment and disposal. Computation
of waterborne fees is based on tank size and
expected usage.

• PUB should be consulted when developing the

rainwater collection system. It should also comply
with NEA’s guidelines on mosquito prevention.

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3. WATER EFFICIENCY

3.2.3. WATER EFFICIENT IRRIGATION SYSTEM

Irrigation system should be zoned so that plants with different types of water needs are irrigated separately. For example,
turf grass should be watered separately from shrubs and flowers. Trees and shrubs that require little irrigation may only
require water during prolonged periods of dry season when they show signs of stress. For these plants, hand watering
may be all that is required.

Water efficient irrigation system such as drip irrigation system should be used. Drip irrigation applies water slowly and
directly to the roots of plants through small flexible pipes and flow control devices (called emitters). Since water is applied
directly to the root, evaporation and runoff is minimized. The irrigation system using potable water is only permitted for
system to be turned on manually and turned off automatically

Automatic controller should be used to turn the irrigation system off and to control the water flow through the various
zones according to a pre-set schedule. Rain sensors should be incorporated to automatically turn off irrigation system
during raining days.

Water Efficient Irrigation System Potential saving

Drip irrigation system

• Drip irrigation uses 30% to 50% less water than
sprinkler irrigation

Rain sensor to shut the irrigation system

• This project uses drip irrigation that was activated
based on time schedule regardless of the weather.
Turn off irrigation By simply incorporating rain sensor to shut the
system irrigation system off during raining days, savings of
35% of water a year were achieved.
Rain
Sensor

POINT TO NOTE
• A flexible irrigation schedule can save water by adjusting to changing weather conditions. The schedule should
also be re-adjusted frequently during the growing season because as plants grow and become more mature,
they often need less water.

3.2.4. WATER FEATURES

Recycled water, rainwater or NEWater should be used for water features.

3.3. METERING & ACCOUNTING
Sub-meters should be installed on all major water systems, such as cooling tower, irrigation, hot water devices, etc.
The readings taken can help to give a better picture of water consumption in buildings and allow building owners know
how much water is consumed by the major water equipment. By monitoring water usage, water saving opportunities can
be identified.

The main and sub-meters should be linked to a building management system (BMS). By linking the reading to BMS,
water usage trends can be recorded. An alarm could also be activated if there is a sudden increase in water consumption
or a new trend in water consumption as this will indicate the possibility of a water leakage.

Sub-meters BMS display

3.4. COOLING TOWER WATER CONSUMPTION

3.4.1. USE NEWATER

Where applicable, NEWater should be used for cooling tower make-up water. The NEWater is cleaner than PUB water.
This would enable the tower to run at higher concentration cycles and hence increase water efficiency.

Condensate water from AHUs or FCUs could also be used for cooling tower make-up water. Using condensate water
from air side to top up cooling tower water not only lowers its water temperature to raise chiller efficiency, it also helps
to reduce the amount of make-up water needed.

Using NEWater for cooling tower Using Recycle A/C condensation for cooling tower

Cooling tower
water tank
NEWater

Collecting
condensate water
from AHU

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3. WATER EFFICIENCY

3.4.2. BETTER CYCLES OF CONCENTRATION

Cooling tower water treatment should be designed to achieve 6 or better cycles of concentration for water based cooling
system. With the quality of water supplied by PUB or NEWater, cycles of concentration of 6 or higher are achievable.

Higher concentration cycles reduce make-up and blow-down water requirements and hence reduce the cost of
operation.

The optimum concentration cycle should be decided in consultation with the water treatment service provider. The
potential for scale, corrosion, deposition and biological fouling problems should also be considered.

3.4.3. EFFICIENT DRIFT ELIMINATORS

Efficient drift eliminator should be used. It should restrict the drift loss to less than 0.02% of cooling tower recirculating
water. The drift eliminators control unnecessary loss of water and help reduce the nuisance of water spraying near
the tower.

3.5. CASE STUDY

The Nanyang Polytechnic has been effectively monitoring the water consumption of the campus. It has also implemented
a series of water-efficient practices as illustrated below:

Water Efficient Appliances and Equipment

• Reduction of flow rates

Tap before improvement Tap after improvement

Water Efficient Landscaping

• Collection of rain water for cleaning and irrigation
• Irrigation system using rain sensor & timer
• Rainwater is also used for water supply to water features
Rooftop designed to collect rainwater Rain sensor

Metering & Accounting

• Main and sub-meters are installed to monitor the water usage of major water systems
• The main and sub-meters are connected to BMS

Cooling Tower Water Consumption

• NEWater is used for cooling tower
• Efficient drift eliminators are used

BMS monitors the pumping system NEWater is used for cooling tower

Innovation
• Effective and creative enhancement to hockey pitch watering system (see details in Section 6 on Innovation)

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