How High Efficiency Plumbing Fixtures Can Benefit You
There is greater awareness of the need to conserve and protect valuable water resources within communities today. Every activity inside the household that involves the use of water can be done in a more mindful manner, using better-designed equipment and fixtures, in order to prevent wastage and contribute to the collective efforts in specific areas.
One positive practice that families can observe is to install high efficiency plumbing fixtures to replace more traditional provisions. If all households were to do this, according to the US EPA, the entire country would be able to save over 3 trillion gallons of water, plus more than $18 billion each year.
And because energy is used to treat water for better quality, deliver the water to homes, and heat the water for the residents’ use, saving water also means saving considerable amounts of energy. Just one American home out of a hundred that gets retrofitted with more water-efficient fixtures would translate to around 100 million kWh of electricity saved each year. Just imagine: That is equivalent to 80,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions prevented from entering the environment.
With these benefits, what household would fail to see the practicality and positive environmental impact of high-efficiency fixtures? If you’re interested to transform your home into a truly environment-friendly one, then consider making the switch to high-efficiency fixtures with the help of your trusted plumbing professionals.
Here is what you need to know about plumbing fixtures with ultra-low water use:
Fixing Faucets
Conventional faucets use more than 2.5 gallons per minute (gpm). You can replace these with their high-efficiency counterparts which have flow rates that do not exceed 1.5 gpm.
Alternatively, you can modify your current faucet with a flow restrictor or aerator if you’re in need of a less expensive water-saving option.
Saving On Showers
Taking showers accounts for about 20 percent of water usage in the average household. But if the goal is to save water, it’s best to stay away from fancy showerheads that mimic rainfall, for example, which can waste several gallons of water at once.
Slash your water use when showering by replacing your old showerhead with a more efficient ultra-low-flow. A good showerhead does not use more than 2 gpm (traditional showerheads use 2.5 gpm). You’ll cut your water use down by as much as 70 percent with this move alone.
Flush Smarter
Finally, you can save more water, time and money when you choose your toilets wisely. Flushing is the one activity that consumes the greatest amount of water in the average household.
The typical toilet (generally, one that has been installed before 1994) uses over 1.6 gallons of water per flush (gpf). You have three alternative options for saving water:
- A high-efficiency toilet does not exceed 1.28 gpf.
- A dual-flush toilet comes with two buttons: a lower-flush button for liquid waste and a higher-flush button for solid waste.
- A composting toilet uses little or even no water for flushing waste.
If you would like more information about high efficiency plumbing fixtures contact the Fox Cities plumbing professionals at Turek’s Plumbing.