GWC Tempering Valve

good-design-award_winner_rgb_blk_logo
  • 2021

  • Product
    Hardware and Building

Designed By:

Commissioned By:

GWC Valves

Designed In:

Australia

The GWC Tempering Valve is a world-first design that simplifies the workflow on building sites. This Australian design allows trades to work with greater freedom after the installation and certification of pressurised lines, which reduces the need for plumbers to periodically return to the site.


view website
view facebook
Buy online

  • CHALLENGE
  • SOLUTION
  • IMPACT
  • MORE
  • The GWC Tempering Valve is designed to enhance and simplify the workflow of building sites where plumbing installations are required. Legislation requires tempering valves to be installed in all hot water plumbing applications. Currently, temporary connecting pipes may need to be installed, removed, and then reinstalled several times throughout a typical build to allow other trades, such as plasterers, tilers and cabinet-makers to complete their work. This process can be costly and creates scheduling problems and construction delays. GWC Valves set out to design a valve that would simplify site workflow and allow all trades to work more independently.

  • During construction, it is critical to keep water circulating throughout all water pipes, this helps identify damage to pipes prior to plastering, tiling or cabinet installs. The GWC Tempering Valve allows all trades to complete their work in and around operational water lines. This was achieved by designing a central valve body with an internal tempering cartridge. As the cartridge mixes the water internally, it has eliminated the need for costly and unsightly external pipes and connectors. By removing these pipes and connectors, GWC Valves have limited the possibility for tempering valves to be illegally removed or bypassed.

  • The GWC Tempering Valve uses design to streamline the commercial flow of work on building sites where tempered water lines are installed. Improved installation and site workflow provides cost and time savings across the entire build. The modern and unintrusive design provides greater freedom to designers and architects. It provides benefits to accessibility and storage in tight spaces where tempering vales are required to be installed. The modular nature of the design allows the unit to be serviced and maintained quickly and easily removing the need for the entire unit to be removed and replaced.

  • Current tempering valves are very agricultural in appearance and are often accepted as a necessary evil in any building project. Due to their unsightly nature, tempering valves are often incorrectly installed in inaccessible freestanding locations such as ceiling cavities. In some cases, tempering valves are removed entirely and illegally bypassed, which results in an unsafe and dangerous plumbing system. The GWC Tempering Valve is an unintrusive and compact design solution that is sympathetic to modern environments. It provides greater design freedom to designers when designing spaces such as bathrooms, kitchens and laundries. GWC Valves set out to design a tempering valve that would provide benefits to plumbers during the installation and testing of tempered waterlines. However, the design also considers the needs of other trades, such as plasterers, tilers, painters and cabinet makers, by simplifying their workflow and allowing them to work independently of each other. The simplistic design has meant that fewer pipes and connections are required for installation and certification. The GWC Tempering Valve quicker to install and is supplied with all the fittings required for installation. This includes a pressure blanking cap that replaced the need for temporary piping to be fitted during pressurisation and certification.