By Sandra Buettner, Johnson Controls
The links between energy efficiency and water efficiency become clearer every day. To mention just a few:
· Generating electricity requires a lot of water
· Treating water and wastewater uses a lot of energy
· As we reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency, we can lessen the impacts of climate change – which include droughts and flooding.
The connection is especially strong in commercial buildings, where more than 11% of all water used is hot water. A recent report from McGraw Hill Construction on Water Use in Buildings indicated that reducing water use by 15% with water efficient tools leads to 10-11% less energy used and 11-12% lower operations costs.
Last week, we got a hands-on demonstration here at Johnson Controls of how energy and water efficiency go hand-in-hand. We teamed up with Kohler Company – a global leader in plumbing fixtures – to present a “water efficiency fair” at our Building Efficiency business unit headquarters in Milwaukee.
We blocked off the street next to our building, making it convenient for hundreds of our employees to take part in the fair, which included:
· Demonstrations of Automatic Meter Reading and leak detection technology offered by Johnson Controls — wireless devices that make it easier for city water utilities to accurately measure residential and commercial water usage, as well as detect leaks in water pipes
· Displays of Kohler highly-efficient plumbing fixtures such as low-flow shower heads, kitchen and bath faucets, and toilets
· An entertaining talk by Ed Del Grande – a master plumber, comedian and Kohler spokesperson
· Case studies illustrating how Johnson Controls Metasys® building management systems are helping organizations save both water and energy
· Information from the Milwaukee 7 Water Council – the public/private initiative seeking to establish the Milwaukee Region as the global capital for freshwater research, economic development and education.
Kohler generously offered Johnson Controls employees attending the water fair their employee discount on purchases of plumbing fixtures.
As a colleague pointed out to me recently, as we step up our efforts to use energy more efficiently, we can and are developing alternatives to fossil fuels – such as solar, wind and other renewable energy resources. But there’s no alternative to water. We must use the planet’s fresh water – which, by the way, is less than one percent of the total on earth – as efficiently as possible.
At Johnson Controls, this water fair will become an annual reminder of how each one of us can make a difference in water and energy efficiency, both at work and at home.
