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Rainwater Harvesting Success at IKEA
A Case Study from RMS
By: Rainwater Management Systems - Thursday, January 25, 2007
Source: www.rainwatermanagement.com
Client: IKEA Group
IKEA Group, an organization that operates over 100 retail furniture stores around the world had a new retail store in Paramus, New Jersey, scheduled to open in the Fall of 2003.
Challenge
IKEA has strongly favored the use of siphonic roof drainage for their retail and warehousing facilities in Europe. IKEA wanted the New Jersey store to be the first IKEA store in the United States to utilize siphonic drainage. John Rattenbury is currently the only engineer in the United States capable of providing siphonic roof drainage design services.
Application
Rain is channeled from 250,000 square feet of roof area at a design rainfall intensity of 5.0" per hour. This system replaces a conventional system of eight downpipes sized at 10" to 12" with only five downpipes sized at 8" and 6".
Benefits
- Siphonic systems are ideal for low-rise buildings with a vast footprint. Such buildings include airport terminals, covered malls, office complexes, warehouses, aircraft hangers, train stations, convention centers and factories.
- Siphonic piping does not have to be pitched like traditional open channel drainage, the piping system requires no more space than other pressurized mechanical piping systems.
- Fewer downpipes means fewer chances of interfering with architecture.
- When operating in siphonic mode, water velocities in the piping reach up to 26 feet per second making the system self-cleansing.
Client: Eggleston Services
Eggleston Services, a non-profit organization in Norfolk, Virginia, dedicated to providing work opportunities for people with severe disabilities.
Challenge
Integrate a rain water-capture system into its new 34,000 square foot laundry facility in order to drive down the cost of water, energy, and chemicals.
Application
Rain is channeled from an all-rubber roof into a network of drainpipes in the ceiling and into two 10,000-gallon polyethylene tanks located at the back of the facility.
Benefits
- Water from the storage tanks is pumped through three separate filtration systems into the laundry building where it is used as wash water.
- Rain water is fed into the boilers to partially fuel the steam-heated ironers.
- The storage tanks fill with one-inch of rain.
- The harvested rain water provides up to 15 percent of the laundry’s water requirements.
- Based on the average rainfall, the system yields 72 days of laundry operation.
- In a drought, the harvested rain water will last for 3-4 days.
- The rain water stored in the tanks maintains an ambient temperature of 82 degrees, thus reducing the energy required to heat the wash water.
- The return on the rain water harvesting system investment was 12 months.
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