How to score BREEAM Excellent or higher
The vacuum toilets are also identified as an innovative solution and attracts 1 additional point in the BREEAM Water Efficiency, giving 6 points in total.
- Vacuum toilets
- Water saving
Maximise BREEAM credits and comply with the new London Plan
The new London Plan encourages to minimise the use of mains water in commercial developments and sets those to achieve at least the BREEAM Excellent standard.
In London there are already rainwater and grey water systems in place, recycling water to serve vacuum toilets. This means using net zero potable water for toilet flushing and significantly reducing the building's total water consumption.
Two categories of solutions for reducing water consumption
Fittings with reduced flow rate or volume
- Vacuum toilets
- Aerated taps for basins and showers
- Dual flush toilets
- Water saving dishwasher / washing machines
Reusing water to offset potable water demand
- Grey water systems
- Rainwater harvesting systems
- Other water collection and processing
How does BREEAM assess water consumption?
The BREEAM assessment on the building's domestic water usage is undertaken using the BREEAM WAT01 calculator.
The water consumption for the assessed building is calculated based on individual water fitting consumption (e.g. flowrate of taps etc.) and it is compared against a baseline performance.
BREEAM credits are awarded correspondingly to an improvement or, in other words, the greater reduction in water consumption compared to the baseline, the better the score.
New and modern vacuum technology
Vacuum drainage and vacuum toilets have been in use for over 30 years in the rail, marine and aviation industry. The latest generation of vacuum drainage systems provide a modern and effective alternative to traditional gravity drainage, for both commercial and residential developments.
The modern vacuum toilet's sound performance has been significantly improved and now they operate on levels equivalent to the traditional toilet.
Vacuum toilets use only 1 liter or less of water for full flush, compared to 6 liters required for traditional toilets.
Additionally, the vacuum drainage system can operate using rainwater or recycled grey water collected from showers, baths and washbasins, eliminating the use and cost of fresh water for toilet flushing.
Saving water with vacuum drainage
- The use of vacuum toilets combined with water recycling will eliminate the use of potable water for WC flushing purposes
- Preservation of clean water supplies and reduced water demand in a water stressed area
- Discharge rates decreased, leading to less pressure on ageing and overloaded drainage systems.
- Significant cost savings related to reduced water and drainage volumes.
