Do You Have Water Wasters In Your Home?

Reducing your home’s water bill is a great way to keep more money in your pocket and lower your impact on the environment at the same time.  Fortunately, there are many energy efficient, green technological advances that make it easy for you to consume less and conserve more.   The first step is to determine how many water wasters that you have in your home by doing a quick inventory and looking for items like these: 

- Older toilets in the bathrooms
- A traditional, tank water heater
- Sink faucets that have not been upgraded
- Showerheads that aren’t efficient
- A top loading washing machine

If you have any of these, you could be sending money down the drain.   For example, newer low flow, high-efficiency toilets use less water yet flush just as well.  According to www.epa.gov, toilets account for nearly 30% of an average home’s indoor water consumption, so the potential for long-term water and money savings is great.  Dual flush toilets are another technological advance that give the option of flushing two different quantities of water at each use, and can save even more than high-efficiency toilets.

Money saving tankless water heaters are also energy savers when compared to traditional tank units.  According to www.energysavers.gov, water heating can make up 14-25% of a home’s energy consumption. Tankless water heaters increase energy savings by heating water on demand instead of storing it for later use.  Other energy saving options include solar water heaters, tankless coil and indirect water heaters, and heat pump water heaters that use electricity to move the heat.

Installing new sink faucets or aerators can also reduce your home’s water usage.  Faucets account for more than 15% of indoor water use, according to www.epa.gov.  Aerators work by mixing the water from the faucet with air, reducing the amount of water needed to maintain pressure.   Users likely won’t notice a difference; at least, not until the lower water bill comes.

Did you know that every time you take a shower, you could be taking a bath on your water bill?  Showering accounts for nearly 17% of that bill for indoor water use, or about 30 gallons per household each day as reported by www.epa.gov.  High efficiency showerheads not only lower water use; they also require less hot water, meaning additional energy savings from reduced water heater function.  Today, most high-efficiency shower heads are just as good as older ones, and you likely won’t notice much of a difference.

Front loading clothes washers use less water and less power than top loading models.  According to www.epa.gov, the average home washing machine uses about 41 gallons per load, and high-effiency models use 35% to 50% less water, plus 50% less energy per load.  Look for clothes washers with low water factor ratings for maximum efficiency. 

For the latest information on green technology plumbing advances and to find out how to apply these solutions to your home, contact your local ARS®/Rescue Rooter® home plumbing specialist today.