Green Toilets
The gents urinals are fitted with Zerodor™, the waterless urinals a Delhi IIT patented product that is free of any consumables and low in maintenance. Conventional water flush urinals use approximately 2-4 liters of water for flushing. The intelligently designed mechanism of Zerodor only allows the liquids (Urine) to pass into the drain pipe and blocks the odor causing gases (coming from the drain pipe) to enter the restroom. This helps in saving a huge volume of fresh water which normally gets wasted in flushing the urine and controlling the odor. Urine mixing with water generates ammonia resulting in bad odor and avoidance of water use limits odor as well. Water is used only during cleaning and this water dilutes the urine if any left in the drain pipes reducing the ammonia formation in the drain pipes.
Depending on the occupancy level of that particular floor, the building automation system is configured to automatically operate an actuator that flushes the urinals automatically – a few times a day – reducing the need for frequent manual cleaning.
Waterless urinals can save about 1,50,000 liters of fresh water per urinal pan per annum. In addition to this it also saves a lot of infrastructure cost like pumping of water, maintenance of plumbing accessories for flush / auto flush devices and sewer maintenance cost due to reduced load on sewer.
The toilet flushing is with 100% recycled water. There is also a signage that says it is a “Paper towels free facility” displaying what it costs the environment to make paper towels and the decomposing of the paper towels produce methane gas that is a leading cause for global warming.
The need for water savings is also depicted to create awareness for occupants to reduce water usage across the building.
All lighting inside the toilets are operated both LUX level & Occupancy detection based. All taps are fitted with aerators for reduced flow and sensors to minimize wastage. The facility also uses green cleaning agents for toilet housekeeping.
Even the exhaust fans in the toilet are operated automatically based on occupancy levels trying to save as much as energy as possible. The cooled return-air from the work space is pumped into the toilets to keep the toilets cool as well.
Water Purification
Past the gate, on the left side there are two water purification systems sitting on-top of the huge sumps that filters the rain water and the raw water. These systems are fully automated as well with the ability to raise maintenance alerts in case of any failures of the pump, control systems etc. eFACiLiTY® Asset Management software generates a work order to the maintenance contractor – in case of any such faults and till the time the problem is rectified, the Service Level Management (SLA) function keeps track of the issue and does multi-level escalations in case of delays in attending to these jobs.
eFACiLiTY® also has the capability to detect faults like foot valve failures, leaks in the system by means of continuously monitoring the duration of pumping, water usage etc. and generates alerts to maintenance staff for any abnormal operation preventing wastage of electricity and water.
The purifications systems use UV-filtering instead of chlorine dosing to disinfect the water as well ensuring a fully automated operation of these systems with absolutely no manual intervention.
Rain Water Harvesting
Rainwater harvesting is probably one of the best concepts that lets us gainfully use natural rainwater, which would otherwise go waste. Especially in areas that are dense with concrete buildings, the rainwater that falls flows away and is lost forever. That is why it is important for even the smallest of buildings to have in place a rainwater harvesting system that can provide a steady source of water, which can be filtered and re-filtered to make it potable enough for human consumption. Apart from being used in the restrooms and for watering the garden, the harvested rainwater can be purified using simple techniques to make it safe enough to drink.
There are several types of rainwater harvesting systems used all over the world, with the cost depending on the size and the technology being deployed. However, all systems have one ultimate goal – to conserve rainwater and make best use of it. The advantage with rainwater harvesting is that it can be done at a very small scale as well as mammoth scales where several thousand liters of water is harvested.
The crudest form of rainwater harvesting is probably one where the larger particles of dust are filtered using a net and the rainwater is drawn through a pipe that fills up an underground sump with rainwater, which is pumped to water the garden.
A more sophisticated version is the domestic rainwater harvesting system where after the first net filter; the water is passed through a sand filter that removes other finer particles of dust/dirt. Even this water is not completely particle-free, though the water can be used for flushing and gardening purposes. Both these systems work on gravity feed systems, with no power being used to run motors to collect the water. However, electric pumps are used to pump the filtered water to an overhead storage tank.
A more elaborate and scientific system of rainwater harvesting is adopted in commercial buildings that have a large catchment area and the building is several floors high. The height of the building is an advantage as the water gains sufficient pressure and can be filled in strategically placed sumps without having to use electric pumps.
From a green building point of view, it is even more important to save every drop of rainwater and use it judiciously, thus contributing to energy conservation (read consuming less power as no pumps need to run) Here, at our 2nd greenest rated building in the world, all the rainwater from the roof is harvested, filtered, stored and filtered and utilized for flushing in the restrooms and for watering the garden. The rainwater harvested is first passed through “Rainy Filter“, which works based on natural flow (gravity and natural water pressure), thus helping save a lot of energy.
It automatically segregates the heavier dirt and is further collected in a desilting chamber and then stored in a large rainwater sump. This water is automatically pumped and filtered using a dual-media filter and UV filter and then goes to the raw water sump where it gets mixed the raw water either purchased or supplied by the municipal corporation. This water is again filtered using a pressure sand filter and an activated carbon filter and goes through another UV filter, which ensures the purity of the water, enabling it to be used for drinking purposes as well.
Sewage Treatment Plant
100% of the waste water, grey water and sewage is recycled using the Advanced Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR) from KLARO, Germany. The treated water is used for flushing and gardening leading to enormous water savings. The system operates fully automated and requires very low periodic maintenance as well. The kitchen water is passed through a grease trap and an anaerobic digester – to reduce the oil, fats and grease entering into the SBR. The treated water from the SBR is filtered using a pressure sand filter and an activated carbon filter and at the delivery point, it passes through the UV filter as well to reduce the suspended impurities and control the microbial growth.
The recycled water which has high level of micro-nutrients is very good for gardening and caters to the complete gardening and flushing needs of the facility.
