Institutional and commercial facilities undertake retrofits of their plumbing systems for a number of important reasons. Most often, maintenance and engineering managers are trying to curtail costs related to water use. Or they are trying to achieve sustainability goals set by the organization. Still others want to extend the performance lives of key products, such as flush valves and faucets.
Perhaps the most daunting challenge in planning retrofits is specifying the most appropriate products to ensure the upgrade achieves these goals.
"It's not so easy to plug and place fixtures into an existing building, especially when you are retrofitting for high-efficiency," says Jeff Gilmore with American Standard. "You need to be aware of what's in the building to know what your retrofit opportunities are to make sure that if you do retrofit, you are going to have success in that application."
An article in the July issue of Maintenance Solutions magazine looks at the elements that make plumbing retrofits successful in facilities as well as some of the trends in plumbing projects and new products available.
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