A wall mounted dual flush toilet from Duravit
Photo courtesy of Duravit
You might notice I’m particularly obsessed with toilets these past two months. Being cooped up in the house makes the necessaries in the home all the more important.
Over the years, there has been an increased concern for the environment and particularly in conserving water and energy. An excellent option for the home, to save water, is dual flush toilets.
The cadet model toilet from American Standard releases 1.6 gallons of water or a partial flush using … [+]
Photo courtesy of American Standard
These toilets are growing in popularity in North American. According to Duravit, more than 80% of toilets sold in the North American market are dual flush. They are a company that claims to be “dedicated to water savings and sustainability across the brand.” According to their statistics Duravit has contributed to a cumulative saving of over 2.1 trillion gallons of water since entering its partnership with WaterSense through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Kohler’s dual-flush levers or actuator with two flow options
Photo courtesy of Kohler
According to Kohler, they’ve seen significant growth on the 1.28 and 1.0 gallons of water per flush (gpf). They say, “Historically, homeowners have been resistant to replace their 3.5 gpf or 1.6 gpf toilets because the perception is, they perform better.” They say Kohler products at 1.28 outperform 3.5 and 1.6 toilets due to optimized fluid dynamics, without the need for the higher volume usually found on dual flush toilets.
Kohler’s Highline Dual-Flush Toilet
Photo courtesy of Kohler
Jams Walsh, the VP of product marketing for American Standard believes the “Challenges with selling more dual flush toilets in the United States include acceptance of using a two-level actuator as well as the emergence of other water saving toilet options such as the American Standard 1.0 gpf single lever VorMax UHET (ultra-high-efficiency toilets) which also cleans the bowl 2x better than conventional toilets. American Standard dual flush toilets have EverClean surface that inhibits the growth of bacteria, mold, and mildew.”
EPA’s rigorous performance mandate for high efficiency toilets, is 1.28 or fewer gallons per flush than other toilets. WaterSense approved toilets save at least 20% less water than non-WaterSense ones.
Water savings products, such as Dual Flush toilets can help a family of four save 13,000 gallons of water a year. With bathrooms accounting for roughly 50% of a home’s water usage, according to the EPA and the American Water Works Association, dual flush toilets are highly recommended as these solutions use 20% less water than a federal standard 1.6 gpf toilet. In addition according to the EPA, a dual flush toilet can save the homeowner $99 per year.
This is American Standard’s Studio skirted design dual flush two-piece toilet.
Photo courtesy f American Standard
All companies interviewed provide dual flush toilets that meet or exceed traditional models. Duravit offers two types of dual flush toilets – there are a number of models that flush at 1.6/0.8 gallons per flush and additional models that flush at 1.32/0.92 gallons per flush. These toilets are available in floor mounted as well as wall mounted. An American Standard dual flush, ultra-HET (UHET) like the H2Option uses a high flush of 1.28 gpf for solids and a low flush of 0.92 gpf for liquids for an additional 28% water savings.
TOTO’s RP WASHLET+ RW Wall-Hung high-efficiency toilet is designed to deliver a flush that … [+]
Photo courtesy of TOTO
An additional feature available on some TOTO toilets dual-flush toilet is automatic flushing . When the auto-flush feature is installed, the flush volume varies depending on the length of time the consumer is seated on the WASHLET seat. The Light Flush mode engages from approximately 6 to 30 seconds. The Flush mode engages from approximately 30 seconds or more. The consumer may also program the amount of time s/he prefers before the toilet automatically flushes – five, ten, or 15 seconds. Toto also offers push plates round or square, with two actuators on the front. Push plates are mounted to in-wall tank systems. TOTO offers wall mounted toilets as well as a range of floor-mount dual flush toilets.
Over the last ten years and especially in the last five years, water-saving products have increased in popularity. Codes related to water-saving have also increased; dual flush toilets comply with these tighter codes. There is good reason to believe these more efficient toilets will only continue to be more popular.