(Photo provided by Moen)
By Leah Den Hartogh
Commercial spaces tend to be high-traffic areas. There can be a merry-go-round influx of people that come into and out of an area of a building. “Each commercial plumbing industry has its own unique set of needs depending on a variety of factors such as the nature of operation and specific regulatory requirements,” explains Anny Ang, director of wholesale marketing at Moen. “For example, healthcare facilities often have stricter sanitary regulations than other industries, meaning they require products that keep hygiene top of mind.”
However, all areas of commercial plumbing share this higher-than-normal amount of traffic. As such, the plumbing products that are installed within the building need to have a high level of durability to be able to handle the frequent use it must undergo.
If not taken into consideration, this can result in wear and tear occurring quickly. “The best way plumbers can mitigate damage over time is to recommend products that can withstand a high volume of usage,” explains Ang. “These products must be built to withstand the highest-traffic environments like stadiums and schools, where they may be getting as much use in one day as a residential home fixture gets in a year.”
Not only do plumbing products have to maintain a level of durability, but in the commercial sector, they must also be easy to clean and maintain. From a commercial fixings perspective, this idea of easy maintenance is crucial when looking at the complexity and scale of some of these buildings.
“Maintenance is actually much more important on the commercial side. It’s important to have equipment maintained,” explains Gregory Hunt, product manager commercial at Chicago Faucet. The frequency of the maintenance is typically dependent on how often the products are being used.
One of the bigger headaches that plumbers have to deal with on-the-job site can occur during maintenance calls. When a commercial building has faucets or fixtures from different brands, this can make the job significantly longer as brands tend to have different components that may have to be serviced, “This is where a lot of buildings fall short on maintaining a brand. If you have two different brands, you’re going to have two different sets of repair parts. So, maintaining one brand is something I would push. I would even push for a type of faucet that uses the same handles, the same outlets in the same cartridges,” shares Hunt.
If the plumber can play a part in the decision-making process, choosing faucets or fixtures that have some type of self-cleaning or self-lubricating feature can help prevent issues from occurring down the road. “A pivotal strategy contractors can take is to recommend products that require minimal maintenance to customers,” shares Ang. “Commercial plumbing fixtures are standardized, so it’s easier to replace parts and fittings when necessary. Still, it’s important to select the appropriate faucet for the environment as they need to be easily adaptable and easy to use for all people.”
Post-pandemic
Touchless technology remains the main feature that customers are looking for out of their faucets and fixtures. The pandemic has increased the number of people who are conscious of their personal health and hygiene. But the technology has been there since pre-pandemic times. “Touchless fixtures will continue to be a popular option as hygiene-consciousness will remain top of mind post-pandemic, as well as a continued desire for style in these spaces,” shares Ang.
Low to no touch has become the norm for commercial applications. This trend has started to make a big push into other areas of the commercial restroom. For instance, touchless soap dispensers, faucets, hand dryers, or even towel dispensers, where you just have to wave your hand over a sensor, and the towel comes out, have become a staple in commercial restrooms.
“They’re even removing doors and putting in divider walls. Airports figured that out a long time ago, rarely do you have to open a door to go to the restroom in an airport. You can go through a couple of little dividers and you’re right there. Everything flushes touchless,” explains Hunt. Touchless technology within the sphere of commercial applications isn’t exactly new. It has been around now for somewhere close to 20 years.
Another lesson taken from the pandemic was the benefits of flushing the system. Albeit more important within the health care industry, there can be benefits to flushing the building any time there is stagnant water. “To mitigate bacteria growth, it’s important to choose products that are conducive to easy cleaning and maintenance and can proactively facilitate processes, such as regular flushing of water lines to remove stagnant water,” explains Ang.
Any type of chemical disinfection utilized within the plumbing system shouldn’t be stagnant either as it is corrosive and can start breaking down with connections or pipes. “As the sophistication and understanding of your water system becomes better, facilities have a better idea for when it needs to run at a certain time,” shares Hunt. “It could be time-based, or it can be run after a certain number of litres have gone through the plumbing system.”
Taking out the guesswork
The future of commercial plumbing is heading in quite a fascinating direction. Like the mechanical room, commercial plumbing faucets and fixtures are looking towards connectivity. “It’s been around. It’s not a new concept for sure,” explains Hunt. “We’re dipping our toes into it a little bit. A lot of our touch and most of our touchless have Bluetooth in them.”
This idea of integrated connectable faucets as a unified system is something that should be anticipated to be in the market. Adding Bluetooth is kind of the first step. The next step will be finding a way to let all of the faucets within the commercial space communicate to the building management system. “Residential is going to be a lot easier because they’ve what maybe five faucets in a house depending on the size of the house. It’s going to be a little bit easier to communicate between the different types of fixtures,” explains Hunt.
“But when it comes to commercial, it’s like monster applications. Then it’s going to be a lot more complicated, but it will also allow the building experience to be a little better for the occupants because they can keep up on maintenance.” Plumbing is kind of doing a slow roll into connectivity, but it’ll allow for the guesswork to be taken out of any required maintenance or water quality questions. It is something that plumbers can expect to be coming within the next few years.