Modern fixtures are designed to protect a limited and valuable resource: water. Their design aims to keep usage down while maintaining performance. The principle of eco-conscious living demands this.
In addition to saving water, these upgrades use less energy for water heating, reducing overall household energy costs and helping appliances last longer – reducing replacement and maintenance costs as well.
Low-Flow Fixtures
Low-flow fixtures such as taps or shower heads decrease the flow rate of water while maintaining daily performance levels. This is achieved by adding aerators and pressure regulators, which provide the same water savings without reducing user satisfaction.
In addition to saving money, low-flow fixtures can ease stress on local water infrastructure systems as they undergo modernisation; water that’s not used does not have to be heated, thus bringing further benefits to the environment by preserving energy.
Some homeowners may fear that their showers will have poor pressure or that their toilets won’t flush strongly, but technological improvements have made low-flow fixtures to be efficient without sacrificing the experience. Try out a home water-pressure test, especially if you have older pipes, before making the switch. Many municipalities and utilities offer perks for low-flow fixtures too.
WaterSense Fixtures
WaterSense is a voluntary EPA program aimed at plumbing fixtures that promotes conservation and efficiency. Products that meet the EPA’s water efficiency and performance requirements are awarded the WaterSense label. These labels must perform as well as or better than regular models.
And new homes with fixtures bearing WaterSense’s label yield water, energy and dollar savings – easing pressure on infrastructure while promising to keep nature’s most precious resource flowing.
If you are going to replace faucets, toilets, showerheads and irrigation controllers in your home, make sure to replace them with the EPA WaterSense label on it. This one DIY project saves water and energy along with utility bills of the household. So, save your natural resource along with your money while doing your DIY projects!
DIY Projects
Environmental sustainable home improvement projects are a major area of DIY that benefits the overall movement, such as these examples of green plumbing. These innovative and environmentally sustainable plumbing setups save water at home and capitalise on conserving water in the domestic area that usually uses fresh tap water, which also results in savings on utility bills.
One can drastically reduce hot-water use at no cost or potential harm to the house with two strategies – low-flow fixtures and insulating pipes. Neither requires much labour to install, and either one is simple to maintain.
Another way to reduce your home’s ecological footprint is to install a rainwater collection system. These systems make use of rainwater that’s collected from roof gutters and directed to storage tanks. The collected raindrops can then be used in flushing the toilet or watering the flowerbed, thereby reducing the costs of energy usage. In selecting eco plumbing materials such as rainwater harvesting, you are not only helping the planet but your monthly bill as well.
Longevity
In terms of water usage, using the lowest water flow setting for aerators, and installing dual flush toilets can substantially reduce water use with no loss of performance, making it a green and frugal option for home conservation.
In addition to saving water, the fixtures use less energy to heat the water because it takes less water to do the job – less energy use will translate into lower greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint.
Finally, always use a recirculating pump system so you can deliver hot water directly from your heater to your faucet with minimal wait, zero energy cost and the ability to quickly shut off any water that begins to leak, which can significantly increase water efficiency.
Maintenance
There are also environmental benefits for what is called green plumbing. If we are able to reduce water usage through green fixtures, then we can capture and save some of this precious resource in these times of drought and scarcity. Potentially, green fixtures will help reduce the amount of water that needs to be treated at wastewater treatment plants so that there will be less cost to maintain the local infrastructure.
Green building materials such as bamboo or recycled metals for pipes and fittings can also offer an alternative that has less environmental impact by providing green structures that are strong, long-lasting and economical. Since bamboo regrows rapidly without the need for cultivation or the use of harmful solvents and chemicals, fast-growing woods such as bamboo can also reduce the dependence on slow-growing hardwood trees without hampering the objective of promoting sustainable forestry.
Regular cleaning will help to reduce waste by maximising efficiency: for example, think of leak detection systems, regular cleaning of soap scum build-up and mineral deposits, and anything else that can help keep your plumbing system running smoothly. Professional plumbers are trained to spot when action needs to be taken in order to quickly solve the problem before it causes excessive waste of time and resources.