The University of Wisconsin Hospital & Clinics (UWHC) in Madison, Wis., is designed to earn a U.S. Green Building Council LEED for Healthcare Silver designation and to promote the city’s goal of reducing water use, according to an article on the Consulting-Specifying Engineer website.
From a base design that would have used 17.6 million gal/year, the selection and right-sizing of mechanical systems and facility equipment reduced the total water demand to 11.7 million gal/year, the article said. Of that, more than half of the water will be reused.
When the building opens in 2015, UWHC will avoid purchasing 12 million gal/year of potable water that the base design would have used.
Design elements that reduce water use include:
• Chilled water cooled sterilizers
• A system of interconnected ponds that receive and naturally filter water from air handling units, roofs, lawn and parking areas
• A cooling tower and landscape system that use water from the ponds
• Landscape design with minimal irrigation needs
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