High-Efficiency Toilets and Urinals
Questions and Answers
Question: What is a high-efficiency toilet (HET)?
Answer: A high-efficiency toilet (HET) is a toilet with a flush volume of 4.8 litres (1.28 gallons) or less. Dual-flush toilets are classified as HETs because the ratio of reduced flushes (up to 4.1 litres) to full flushes (up to 6 litres) results in an effective flush volume that is less than 4.8 litres.
Question: What is a high-efficiency urinal (HEU)?
Answer: A high-efficiency urinal (HEU) is a fixture with a flush volume of 1.9 litres or less.
Question: The Building Code currently requires the installation of toilets with a maximum 6-litre flush volume in all new construction. Why is the government considering a Building Code requirement for HETs?
Answer: Toilets represent 30% to 40% of domestic water use, both in households and commercial and institutional buildings. On average, high-efficiency toilets use at least 20% less water than the 6-litre models that are currently required in BC. The installation of toilets that consume less water results in even greater water savings.
Question: What is included in the HET/HEU requirement? Will it apply to every new building?
Answer: The HET requirement makes a distinction between residential buildings and industrial, commercial and institutional (ICI) buildings. In ICI buildings, any tank-type toilets would be required to be dual-flush. The requirement for direct flush toilets with a maximum flush cycle of 6 litres would remain unchanged.
In residential buildings, high-efficiency toilets or dual-flush toilets would be required. Proposed Code Changes.
HEUs would be required whenever urinals are installed.
The requirement would apply to all new buildings as well as major renovations.
Question: What is the availability of HETs across BC? What price range do they span?
Answer: While availability of HETs is still somewhat limited, prices are comparable to 6-litre models, with a range from $150 to $300. A six-month lead-in period for an HET requirement would enable suppliers to reduce existing inventory and bring in new HET and dual-flush stock.
Question: How well do HETs perform?
Answer: While some early low-consumption toilets did not perform well, in recent testing by Veritec Consulting and Koeller and Company, all of the high-efficiency and dual-flush models (over 100) demonstrated good to excellent flushing performance.
Question: Has the BC government identified the top rated HET models and manufacturers to help consumers make informed purchases?
Answer: A detailed report on the performance of HETs is available online.
Question: Will an HET/HEU requirement increase construction costs?
Building costs are not likely to increase. The cost of HETs/HEUs is comparable to fixtures with higher water consumption.
Question: Are HETs compatible with current sanitary drainage systems?
Answer: According to several recent research reports, HETs have no difficulty meeting the waste transport requirements typical of residential sanitary drainage systems. However, when HETs are installed in industrial, commercial and institutional (ICI) buildings, there are concerns about the drainline carry of a 4.8 litre flush volume. Until further research on drainline transport issues becomes available, the Code’s HET requirement will be limited to residential buildings, except for tank-type toilets in ICI buildings, which must be dual-flush.
Question: I’m on a septic system. Can I still install an HET?
Answer: HETs are generally considered to benefit septic systems by reducing the volume of wastewater flowing into them.
