How much water can a commercial building store

How much water does a commercial building use a day?

CBECS 2012 - Release date: February 9, 2017 Using water consumption data from the Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS), EIA estimates that the 46,000 large commercial buildings (greater than 200,000 square feet) used about 359 billion gallons of water (980 million gallons per day) in 2012.

Do commercial buildings need water conservation?

Water conservation is necessary in commercial settings, as the need for water usage varies depending on the building type. For instance, hospitals and office buildings require a large water volume for mechanical systems, while hotels and restaurants have high usage in laundry and food service applications, respectively.

How much water does a building use?

This level represents an estimated 2.3% of the total public water supply in the United States . On average, these buildings used 7.9 million gallons per building, 20 gallons per square foot, and 18,400 gallons per worker in 2012.

Why is water important in commercial buildings?

In commercial buildings, energy is used to pump and heat water, 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 energy demand and performance.

Which buildings use the most water a year?

Inpatient healthcare buildings were the most intensive users of water in 2012, averaging almost 50 gallons per square foot per year. Public order and safety buildings (which include prisons) and lodging buildings (which includes hotels) were the next most intensive, each averaging about 42 gallons per square foot.

Do apartment buildings need more water?

In apartment buildings, the opposite is true—water used for bathing and showering exceeds the toilet-flushing demand (see Figure 1). Buildings and complexes with water-cooled boilers or cooling towers for air conditioning require large volumes of water to feed these systems.