September 19, 2013. WASHINGTON
The EPA has finalized the first WaterSense specification for pre-rinse spray valves.
Products that earn the label must be independently certified for efficiency and performance. Working in conjunction with industry stakeholders, EPA specifies a maximum flow rate for WaterSense labeled pre-rinse spray valves of 1.28 gallons per minute, 20 percent less water than the federal standard. To ensure that these fixtures will work well and meet the demands of high-volume kitchens while using less water, EPA also includes spray force performance criteria and a requirement for life cycle testing for the products to earn the WaterSense label.
“Pre-rinse spray valves can account for nearly one-third of the water used in a typical commercial kitchen,” said EPA Acting Administrator for Water Nancy Stoner. “Replacing just one of these fixtures with a WaterSense labeled model can save a typical restaurant more than 7,000 gallons of water per year, the amount of water needed to wash nearly 5,000 racks of dishes.”
A restaurant that replaces just one pre-rinse spray valve with a WaterSense labeled model could recoup its investment in four to eight months and save more than $115 per year on water and energy costs, depending on how its water is heated. WaterSense labeled pre-rinse spray valves will be promoted by EPA’s ENERGY STAR program as part of a suite of energy saving products and practices for the restaurant industry.
To develop the specification, WaterSense worked with a project team associated with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)/Canadian Standards Association (CSA) to evaluate pre-rinse spray valve performance and develop a meaningful test protocol. The ASME/CSA project team was open to the public and comprised a wide variety of stakeholders, including manufacturers, utilities, testing laboratories, representatives from ASTM International, and other water efficiency experts.
WaterSense, a partnership program sponsored by EPA, seeks to protect the future of our nation’s water supply by offering people a simple way to use less water with water-efficient products, new homes, and services. Since the program’s inception in 2006, WaterSense has helped consumers save 487 billion gallons of water and $8.9 billion in water and energy bills.
For more information, visit http://www.epa.gov/watersense/