KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550
Posts: 14,550
Posted:
My husband and I recently returned form a trip to Israel and every toilet we saw was dual-flush. Europe has had a lot of them too in public settings starting in the late '90s. I'm on the Board and my husband is going to submit an agenda item for our monthly meeting presenting the benefits to our high rise of giving an incentive for owners to purchase/install dual-flush toilets.
Our HOA pays for water and the sewer rate is about 130% of our water bill each month. We have 211 residential units = about 240 toilets. At 14 y.o., many owners have already replaced their dated toilets; he & I now have two dual-flush models, but the majority of owners do not.
The old ones have flappers that leak that residents often don't fix. I started a program a few years back where our engineers would replace flapper at no cost to residents and we saved $1800 in six months. Unfortunately, the engineering contractor stopped allowing our engineers into the units except for emergencies.
Dual flush toilets save water and also are less likely to clog (very important in high rises!). They range in price from your basic Home Depot model for $100 to $1,000 and even more for toilets with all the bells & whistles and side-flusing handles. (Most models have the flush buttons on the top of the tank.)
From what I've learned, the dual flush will use on average 1.28 gal. per flush (gpf) vs. 1.6 gpf. But I don't know how to calculate how many gallons per year that saves per toilet. Apparently there's an average flush per resident, but I can't find those data. I've seen info about the "average family" will save ..., but I'd say we're under 2 people per unit. Anyone know how to get an accurate number??
I'm thinking that we could offer $100 incentive per toilet. Does that make sense? From what I can gather, the savings should be close to $80-$100 per toilet per year including sewer. But I'm not at all confident.
Our HOA pays for water and the sewer rate is about 130% of our water bill each month. We have 211 residential units = about 240 toilets. At 14 y.o., many owners have already replaced their dated toilets; he & I now have two dual-flush models, but the majority of owners do not.
The old ones have flappers that leak that residents often don't fix. I started a program a few years back where our engineers would replace flapper at no cost to residents and we saved $1800 in six months. Unfortunately, the engineering contractor stopped allowing our engineers into the units except for emergencies.
Dual flush toilets save water and also are less likely to clog (very important in high rises!). They range in price from your basic Home Depot model for $100 to $1,000 and even more for toilets with all the bells & whistles and side-flusing handles. (Most models have the flush buttons on the top of the tank.)
From what I've learned, the dual flush will use on average 1.28 gal. per flush (gpf) vs. 1.6 gpf. But I don't know how to calculate how many gallons per year that saves per toilet. Apparently there's an average flush per resident, but I can't find those data. I've seen info about the "average family" will save ..., but I'd say we're under 2 people per unit. Anyone know how to get an accurate number??
I'm thinking that we could offer $100 incentive per toilet. Does that make sense? From what I can gather, the savings should be close to $80-$100 per toilet per year including sewer. But I'm not at all confident.
