For more information, please visit www.aquathermpipe.com or call 801-805-6657

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City of Houston’s Green Resource Center Taps PP-R Pipe for Rain Harvesting Demo

The Challenge

Selecting the most eco-friendly

options available to highlight in the

resource center

The Solution

Aquatherm was a key contributor to

the overall system since it offers so

many earth friendly benefits

Project Products Used Location / DateHouston’s Green Resource Center, Reclaimed Water

Greenpipe®Climatherm®

Houston, TXSpring 2009

Aquatherm Advantages• The cradle-to-cradle impact

of PP-R is considerably more earth friendly than the other piping options

• Aquatherm had been approved in the City of Houston for potable water

• The heat fusion connections and corrosion resistance of PP-R provide the system with added durability

The architect who designed and now runs the educational center says he was “…impressed with it and excited about it because it’s an alternative to PVC and it’s got a more benign beginning of life and end of life than the other piping options on the market.”

As one of America’s most populous cities and one known for its concentration of energy-related industry, Houston

is an ideal place to educate people about green building, energy conservation, and thanks to its arid climate, water conservation.

So in 2007 the City of Houston set out to establish an educational outreach center focused on those topics. The stated goal of the Green Building Resource Center was, “To enable the public to experience and learn more about energy, water and material conserving design and construction, also known as ‘green building.’”

According to Sheila Blake, MBA, CBO, LEED AP, Assistant Director, City of Houston, it was important from the outset to ensure this center was a demonstration of a green building itself. “We were determined to show people how it could be done in an existing building, that it could be done on a small scale as a tenant space, and to show that this is what it looks

like and feels like to be in a green building,” Blake said.

When an area of the City of Houston Code Enforcement building became available, the Green Building Resource Center (GBRC) was born. City administrators sought someone within the City of Houston Code Enforcement Department, who could offer interim plan review as a complimentary service to the public and hired Steve Stelzer AIA to serve as the Program Director.

The 3,145-square-foot center was designed as a combination waiting room, showroom, classroom, and library, while serving as a green building demonstration project itself, so that Stelzer, who was heavily involved in the center’s design, could use it to educate the public. The entire Green Building Resource Center, from top to bottom was constructed to green building standards.

From the repurposed USG raised floor system that improves air flow and provides future office flexibility, to recycled and renewable materials like bamboo, cork and flooring made from recycled content, the center offers innovative ideas for energy, water, and material conservation. One of the big

For more information, please visit www.aquathermpipe.com or call 801-805-6657

“I ran across J im, learned a bit about [Aquatherm] and was impressed with it and excited about it because it’s an alternative to PVC and it’s got a more benign beginning of life and end of life than the other piping options on the market.”

-Steve Stelzer, Project Director

attractions is a 250-gallon rain collection tank to demonstrate water conservation.

Every Drop CountsStelzer explains that an exterior plaza area on two sides of

the space with floor-to-ceiling glass and the entire area being shaded by an exterior porch made an ideal location for a rainwater harvesting demonstration. “Anything on the porch would be perfectly visible from the inside and we had a roof drain coming down in one of the columns where we could tie in a tank and collect the water,” he says.

BlueScope Water (Austin, Texas) donated the galvanized metal tank, and Ameresco Solar donated a 20-watt solar panel mounted on the wall above the tank, and a solar powered Shurflo 12 volt DC pump. Landscape Management Services donated a BaseLine soil moisture sensor and a Rainbird controller.

A Thomas 4000 float switch controls the shutoff valve connecting the tank intake pipe to the roof drain line, and a tank gauge was donated by Rain Harvesting Pty Ltd. Additionally, the center was able to procure some planters from the City Parks and Recreation Department. Jack Holmgreen, with the Sparkle Tap Water Company, donated his services in the design and commissioning of the water harvesting system.

The six planters are filled with planting material and foliage donated by local landscape architect Jo Ann Jarreau. They were specifically designed to highlight different types of landscapes and how they are impacted by the harvested rainwater.

For instance, the planters have different plants that attract butterflies, drought tolerant plants, and bog tolerant plants. Both Jarreau and Holmgreen donated display posters illustrating their components as displays for the public – plant types and how the irrigation system works.

Here to ThereStelzer wanted an environmentally friendly means of

transporting water from the tank to the planters and he also wanted to keep the piping out of harm’s reach. Thus, the planters would be watered via showerheads located above the planters at the soffit.

By coincidence, Stelzer encountered Jim Paschal, a code expert who works with polypropylene-random piping (PP-R) piping manufacturer, Aquatherm, Inc., who was in the building

meeting with code officials. “I ran across Jim, learned a bit about the product, and was impressed with it and excited about it because it’s an alternative to PVC and it’s got a more benign beginning of life and end of life than the other piping options on the market,” Stelzer recalls.

Aquatherm had been recently approved for use in potable water use in Houston, and the company donated a small quantity of product for the center’s demonstration project. While Aquatherm offers a purple piping product called Lilac, specifically for gray water applications, for this job Aquatherm Greenpipe® and Climatherm were used, which Stelzer appreciated since he’s working to promote green building and the pipe was actually colored green. Normally, however, the Lilac pipe is appreciated by designers since it is not easily mistaken for potable water with its distinguishable color and clear labeling.

The heat fusion welding process is fundamental to Aquatherm’s eco-friendliness. Simply putting a piece of pipe and a fitting on opposite ends of a welding iron for a specified time (about 24 seconds for two-inch pipe), and then joining them together creates an incredibly strong connection. Aquatherm, which has been one of the world’s greenest piping systems for neary 40 years and proven successful in 70-plus countries, requires less energy for initial production than other piping materials, and involves none of the environmental effects associated with mining operations.

Since it is joined by a simple heat fusion process there are no flames, chemicals, or mechanical connections, and once fused the pipes and fittings have the same physical properties, thus eliminating systematic weaknesses. It is also fully recyclable and has a natural R-value of 1, which can reduce or eliminate the need for insulation.

Don Appenzeller, with ProLine Marketing, Aquatherm’s local representative was set to conduct a training session on the heat fusion process used to weld the PP-R pipe together,

when the director of the City of Houston’s General Services Department learned of the pipe and asked if his department could be included in the training.

Following the training, the city plumbers installed the piping and set the system with no hitches – or leaks. Aquatherm

The German-manufactured pipe has been one of the world’s most durable and greenest piping systems for nearly four decades and proven successful in 70-plus countries. Aquatherm piping systems offer many performance and environmental benefits, such as:

• Eliminating toxic materials, glues and resins, and open flames from the piping installation equation

• An R-value of 1 or greater depending on pipe size and SDR

• The fusion welding process, which creates seamless connections that last a lifetime without leaking or failing

• An optional faser-composite layer in the pipe reduces linear expansion of the pipe by up to 75% compared to plastic piping

Contact:

www.aquathermpipe.com

919W.500N.•Lindon,UT84042•801-805-6657

Greenpipe and Climatherm were used in the demonstration. Rain water is stored in the storage tank and, as needed, is pumped via the solar-powered pumps to the planters. Each afternoon, if there is sun, and the moisture meter senses dry enough soil, then the rainwater “rains” on the planters from the showerheads.

The tank also collects condensate that drips into the roof drain above from the rooftop air handlers, enabling continued watering of the plants, in between Houston’s rain events. In the extremely rare event of low humidity dry spells, a hose running to the roof drain can fill the tank.

An Earth Day OpeningThe educational space, which opened on Earth Day, April

22, 2009, includes dozens of displays that educate the public about energy, water and material conservation for residential and commercial construction, and groups from all over the world have toured it.

The GBRC was awarded LEED™ Gold for Commercial Interiors certification for improved energy use, lighting efficiency and material use as well as incorporating a variety of other sustainable strategies including salvaged furniture and furnishings and the use of regional and recycled content materials. In addition, 94% of the construction and demolition waste was either reclaimed or recycled.

The rainwater harvesting system was not included in the LEED points because the space was not utilizing any water prior to the renovation, so there was not a reduction in water use; but it certainly tells a great story that no additional water is purchased to keep these planters vibrant.

“Throughout this whole project, everyone has worked together really well as a team and there have been many different educational moments. There is only a handful of centers like this one in the country,” Stelzer says, adding that the center typically has about 140 visitors a month.

The center occasionally hosts educational events that are open to the public. Stelzer also reports that the city is looking at rainwater harvesting installations and some of the other

products used at the GBRC on other projects throughout Houston.

For more information about the Green Building Resource Center, visit www.codegreenhouston.org.

A version of this article appeared in the January/February 2011 issue of Plumbing Systems & Design magazine.

To view the article, visit http://psdmagazine.com/sites/default/files/webfm/ArchivedIssues/2011/20110102/20110102-PSD.pdf and scroll down to page 30.

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