In the commercial sector, energy is used to pump and heat water for domestic and other uses, and water is often critical to HVAC equipment. In certain building types, the usage of water can have a major impact on a building’s demand and performance. Collecting information water usage in commercial buildings is an important step towards a better understanding of the relationship between water and energy. This presentation discusses the collection of water usage data in the 2012 Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS): reporting rates by important building characteristics, an evaluation of data quality, and discussion of results.

Commercial buildings represent a sizable use of water from U.S. public water systems, include the largest accounts in many jurisdictions, and utilize water for many processes and end uses ripe for efficiency improvements. Yet water conservation efforts haven’t made the same headway in commercial buildings as in the residential sector. This presentation reviews what is known about water use in the commercial sector, discusses gaps in current knowledge and how an inability to describe the variation observed in water use limits water efficiency potential and summarizes recent efforts by EPA’s WaterSense and ENERGY STAR programs to bridge this gap.

Water is generally overlooked as a source of savings for facilities. The cost of producing and delivering water continues to climb, making it ripe for savings opportunities under energy saving performance contracts. Prisons often have a relatively high usage per inmate. This presentation looks at a recent prison project where prioritizing water conservation resulted in water, sewer, energy and O&M savings, which helped fund significant capital improvements. Water meter data was used to identify a baseline utility profile and achieve substantial domestic water system improvements. Finally, the presentation discusses adopting utility monitoring programs after implementing water system improvements.

As humid air blows past cooling coils in the air-conditioning process, moisture in the air condenses and is routed away from buildings and disposed of as waste. This ‘nuisance’ water is being seen as a new sustainable strategy that contributes toward net zero installations and increases resilience in urban areas. As condensate recovery becomes a more acceptable alternate source to satisfy water demands, understanding potential necessary condensate treatment is important. Treatment methods should be considered based on need, efficacy, cost, safety and long-term maintenance. The case studies provided include examples of implementation, considerations, and lessons learned for condensate collection strategies.