RADLEYS Findenser has helped win a prestigious conservation award for the University of California, San Diego after helping to save an estimated 5.7 million litres of water.
Since they were installed, each Findenser, which are handmade in Britain at Radleys Saffron Walden headquarters, has been able to save as much as 1200 litres each day – the same as two peoples water usage in the drought hit state.
Those savings helped add up to a total of 5.7 million litres for Pacific Hall, a large research building at UC San Diego, and resulted in the university being awarded the Industrial Environmental Association’s Water Conservation Award by the County of San Diego.
Professor Seth Cohen, who accepted the award on behalf of the university, said: “We all know how important saving water is – particularly here in California where we are really struggling with the effects of drought.”
“The Findensers have been a great success. The results of the water saving are so spectacular, with millions of gallons of water saved over the course of a few months.”
“Findenser was a simple and effective tool to improve water savings and laboratory safety. We are hoping more laboratories across the university will adopt the Findenser.”
Since 2012 California has been in a state of drought with 2014 and 2015 seeing exceptional levels of drought across vast swathes of the state.
In 2014 the California government declared a state of emergency and the following year imposed the state’s first ever mandatory restrictions.
From June 2015 to February 2016 California’s residents and businesses were forced to cut their water consumption by 25% - with cities facing charges if they failed to hit their target.
In an effort to rein in its water usage UC San Diego trialled the use of Findenser water condensers, which cut out the need for a water supply thanks to its innovative design.
Comprising an internal glass condenser and an external finned aluminium jacket, the Findenser seals a small amount of water permanently between the pair – stopping the need for a constant flow of water.
The university currently has 280 Findensers across the campus that were acquired thanks to the efforts of the campus Chemical Hygiene Officer, Doug Harvey, and Departmental Safety Officer, Dr Stephen George.
If only half of these were to be used every day they would save 168,000 litres every single day.
Prof Cohen said: “Based on the numbers quoted at the awards ceremony with the county of San Diego, our savings with Findensers was among the highest amount of water saved of all the projects that were recognised with these water saving awards. It’s saved millions of gallons of water.”
“It’s hard to believe how much water has been used using conventional condensers. The continuous flow of water needed for the many reflux reactions being performed by synthetic chemists in our department adds up to incredible amounts of water that have now been conserved thanks to Findenser.”
Not only is the saving of water good news for the environment it is also good news for the bank balance of the university.
In the past few years the university has spent in the region of $5 million in repair costs following floods in their labs.
Managing director of Radleys, Mark Radley, said: “I am delighted that our equipment has helped achieve such fantastic results for UCSD.
“While science has the potential to deliver the answers to the crisis around water consumption we have to lead by example.
“This is why the Findenser is such an important product for us. We are helping to reduce costs for companies and institutions and at the same time removing their risk of flooding. Most importantly we’re helping to save a vital resource for our planet.”
For more information about the Findenser, you can get in touch with our technical sales specialists by calling +44 1799 513320, emailing sales@radleys.co.uk or connecting to our live chat online.
