N Furniture / Equipment

N1 GENERAL PURPOSE FIXTURES/FURNISHINGS/EQUIPMENT
N10 General Fixtures/Furnishings/Equipment
N11 Domestic Kitchen Fittings
N13 Sanitary Appliances/Fittings
N14 Plant Containers
N15 Signs/Notices
N2 SPECIAL PURPOSE FIXTURES/FURNISHINGS/EQUIPMENT
N25 Safe Access Latchways

N11 Domestic Kitchen Fittings

CONSIDER:
WHITEGOODS:
• UK households use £1.2 bn on electricity for fridges and freezers alone.
• Specify most efficient appliances: Efficiency: Grade A in all cases.
• Significant energy savings over life of equipment and of building can be achieved.

AVOID:
• Indonesian hardwood
- Most is illegally logged, destroys forests, communities and habitat.
• Urea formaldehyde in all timber based boards: MDF, chipboard, plywood.
• Taps that require pressure boosting pumps.

N13 Sanitary Appliances/Fittings

CONSIDER:
• A good high flow shower to discourage retrofitting power shower

TAPS:
• Taps offer opportunities for reducing water demand.
• Proximity detection taps will only operate when hands are present and because there are no taps to turn on, soap residues on taps they do not need cleaning so frequently or extensively.
• Aerated taps use considerably less water whilst not appearing to do so.
• Water reducing valves can be fitted to all appliances to reduce high mains pressure to an appropriate flow, so when a tap is open full bore the water is sufficient to rinse hands rather than fill a bath.
• Two stage taps can offer low flow in first position and high flow in second position.
• Water reducing/isolating valves can be fitted to all appliances to reduce waste when systems would otherwise need to be drained for maintenance.

URINALS:
• The decision not to use urinals will increase the demand on water from toilet flushes.
• Urinals create a high demand for water, all of which is drinking quality.
• Waterless urinals require no water at all and only use an oil cartridge to seal sewer gas from the room.
• Conventional water urinals can be proximity detection to flush only after a person has been present and has left.

TOILETS:
• Toilets create a high demand for water, all of which is drinking quality.
• Low or dual flush toilets use less water than their conventional alternatives, flushes can be reduced from 9 litre to 6, 4, 2 and even 1 litre flushes with syphonic drainage.
• Assuming some visitors use the toilets less than once and others might use them more than once assume an average of 1,000,000 uses x 5 litres reduction (9 down to 4) = 5000 m³of drinking quality water saved per year from toilet flushes alone.
• Consider making all disabled toilets unisex to provide more toilets for females.
• Consider making baby change unisex and not occupying a toilet, to provide more toilets for females.

AVOID:
• Overnight water flushing on an automatic urinal flushing system must be avoided.
• Taps that can be left running.
• Taps running at full bore full pressure, if not required.
• Taps that require pressure boosting pumps.
• Power showers.
• Inadequate showers that people would retrofit with a power shower.

N14 Plant Containers

RECYCLING:
• Use recycled aluminium in preference to virgin aluminium, significant reduction in CO₂ generated
• Design for recycling: avoid coatings as they discourage recycling due to the high levels of purity required in aluminium, PPC and PVF2 are more difficult anodizing is an alloy of aluminium and is more readily recycled, mill finish is best but not everybody likes the oxides that form on aluminium
- Mill finished aluminium reflects the colour of the sky: blue, white, grey or sun .

N15 Signs/Notices

CONSIDER:
• Bin store signs for waste segregation guidance, colour coded bins and educational opportunity.
• Use trees cleared from site.
• Interpretation/external insulation blinds and route finding signage.
• Way finding with inset paving signs- we spend a lot of time looking at the pavement.

WASTE MANAGEMENT:
• M&E equipment generates a high level of waste from packaging, most of it recyclable by the producer

AVOID:
• Illuminatied signs.
• PVC See Z50.
• Virgin plastics See Z50.

IF YOU HAVE TO ILLUMINATE A SIGN:
• Don’t illuminate the sky as well.
• Specify most efficient appliances and luminaires: Efficiency: Grade A in all cases.
• Specify most efficient lighting, consider LED and piezo-electronic systems where available and appropriate.
• New LED permanently lit emergency exit signs use 1kW/annum .

N25 Safe Access Latchways

CONSIDER:
• Use restraint in preference to fall arrest.
• Safety lines set in from edges by 2m plus to prevent falls.
• Use stainless steel for long life.