Rainwater Harvesting for Commercial Buildings

Category : Rainwater Harvesting

As the population grows, cities and suburbs expand with more buildings and hence demands on water continue to rise. It’s becoming increasingly important for businesses and commercial entities to install rainwater harvesting system. Rainwater harvesting is the first solution in water management strategies for various commercial, public and residential buildings.

If you have a commercial property then you can save millions of gallons of potable water each year by environment friendly approach called rainwater harvesting. If you are looking for relevant information about rainwater harvesting then you are at the right place to get it. A rainwater harvesting system is a very cost effective solution that yields great benefits for commercial buildings such as: office buildings, schools, hotels, resorts, hospitals, restaurants, and other such.

1. Rainwater harvesting : An effective solution for commercial users

Rainwater harvesting (RWH) system is progressively becoming a part of the sustainable water management measures. Rainwater harvesting is a process that captures, stores and reuses rainfall water. Harvesting rainwater is one of the simplest of ways in which we can live sustainably with nature. A rainwater harvesting system works by collecting the rain from roof gutters, filtering it and storing the water in a tank.

Rainwater harvesting is gaining popularity leading to eco-conservation. Most of the commercial buildings use a significant amount of water and energy in their daily operations. Rainwater harvesting is old and effective technique of collecting rain water during rainy season for future usage purpose. The ecological benefit of rainwater harvesting systems for commercial buildings is that there will be a significant reduction in the amount of water used from the mains.

2. Rainwater harvesting methods for commercial buildings

Surface run-ff harvesting and rooftop harvesting are the two main methods of rainwater harvesting where rooftop harvesting is the most preferred rainwater harvesting method for commercial buildings. The basic components of this system are: catchment, gutter, down take pipes, storage tank, and distribution system. Catchment area directly receives the rainfall where gutters and down take pipes make the water flow from the catchment surface to the storage tank which can be placed either above the ground or below the ground. Finally, the captured rainwater will be filtered and distributed to the point of use through distribution system.

It can provide non-potable water to meet various needs of commercial building such as toilet flushing, laundry, gardening and etc.

3. Benefits of rainwater harvesting for commercial buildings

The efficient use of water becomes increasingly important. Harvesting rainwater is an important part of determining the environmental friendliness of the building. Rainwater harvesting systems enable the collection, conservation and reuse of rainwater that falls onto roofs area of a building and it has significant potential to provide environmental and economic benefits. The benefits of RWH for commercial buildings are numerous and let’s take a look:

1. It can reduce mains water supply by 40-50%
2. It reduces run-off and its harmful impacts
3. RWH promotes both water and energy conservation
4. The system is easy to install, operate and maintain
5. Can be used for several non-drinking purposes
6. It also helps towards a company’s sustainability credentials
7. The ever increasing demand for water can be satisfied
8. It greatly saves money on water bill

“It’s a wise decision to set up rainwater harvesting system for your commercial buildings to overcome the problems of lack of water!”

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