Encore, the manufacturer of one of the world’s most eco-friendly toilet cisterns, said hotels in the Middle East region could save 3.86 million litres of water annually by installing one of its key systems.

The company uses the condensation from air-conditioning units to flush toilets. Until now, this free, sustainable source of water had been drained to waste.

The UK-based company said the 541 hotels that are being planned for the Middle East could save more than two billion litres of water every year if they install its cisterns.

As per the Middle East Hotel Construction Overview report prepared by TopHotelProjects, a total of 158,950 new hotel rooms are set to come up in the region by 2020.

Encore's technical director David Davis, pointed out that Encore was a global product ideally suited to hot and humid conditions like those in the Middle East because air-conditioning units in the region generate a lot of condensate.

"By installing an Encore  - the world’s first cistern that uses condensate from air-conditioning units to flush the toilet – it would save an additional 13,140 litres of water per room annually compared to using a conventional cistern," he noted.

Encore holds 18 litres of water, which is three times more than a conventional cistern but its dual-chamber design means it still fits like standard models, he added.

"By installing Encore instead of a traditional cistern, each hotel could save 3.86 million litres every year and even more if they were full every day," he stated.

Explaining the concept, Davis said: "The bottom chamber holds six litres, which is supplied from the mains pipe. The upper 12-litre chamber is filled with air-conditioning condensate."

"The flush volume can be adjusted to vary the amount of water used from 6 to 1.5 litres. When the toilet is flushed, the lower chamber is emptied and then refilled with condensate from the upper chamber," he explained.

"If there are multiple flushes in a short period of time, the cistern is filled in the conventional way from the mains fed pipe," he added.

Davis pointed out that it was a really easy win for architects, consultants, developers and specifiers who wanted to save water and money.

“When multiplied by 541 – the number of new hotels planned to be built by 2020 - that works out to 2.08 billion litres a year being saved, which is enough to fill 835 Olympic swimming pools," observed Davis.

“And this is all extra water saved because conventional cisterns drain away condensate water as waste," he added.

Encore cisterns also provide an additional two US-based Leed (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) points and two UK-based Breeam (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) credits that have not been possible before.-TradeArabia News Service