Making the move to eco-friendly plumbing solutions has many benefits. Opting for environmentally friendly plumbing will save you money, provide superior performance, and ensure that you help reduce the waste of precious water and energy. There is no better time to make these changes than when you need to repair or replace some aspect of the plumbing in your home.
Eco-Friendly Plumbing Solutions
These days we would all prefer to minimize our carbon footprint and be environmentally sensitive. If you also need to do some home renovations, it is a perfect time to implement some eco-friendly updates to your home.
Green plumbing is surprisingly easy to accomplish. When you replace faucets, toilets, or water systems, you will want to make a point of reducing the water and power you use and waste.
Environmentally Conservative Plumbing Systems
If you are interested in installing an eco-friendly plumbing system in your home, you need to know what your options are. There are several different parts of the system to consider.
• Water Pipes
Pipes that are the right size and made of the right materials will improve your water pressure and minimize leakage and waste. Steel or PEX pipes (cross-linked polyethylene that is flexible rather than rigid) maintain heat well and are durable. If you are using plastic or copper pipes, adding pipe insulators is relatively cheap and can reduce heat loss by 80%. If your pipes are insulated to keep the heat in you won’t need to use as much energy to heat your water.
• Toilets
Eco-friendly toilets are inexpensive and can significantly reduce your water bill. Green toilets use 20% to 60% less energy compared to their classic counterparts, so they will save you money on your water bill. The more recent models don’t lose any of the functionality of older toilets but they significantly reduce water consumption.
• Faucets
Eco-friendly faucets also significantly reduce you water use. It is still important to avoid letting the water run when it isn’t needed, but newer faucets give good water pressure with less water going down the drain.
• Showerheads
Water-efficient showerheads are widely available. Flow-optimized/water-saving showerheads can significantly reduce water flow up to 1.75 GPM (Gallons Per Minute) compared to the standard flow of water at 2.5 GPM. In other words, you will only use 70% of the water consumed with traditional showerheads. In addition to reducing water consumption, this eco-friendly solution also decreases energy costs because you will use less water without cutting back on your shower’s performance.
• Outdoor Water System
Lawns and landscaping account for 30% of the water used in the United States, so conservation is very important. Irrigation systems that schedule watering so that it will efficiently nourish the vegetation but avoid wasting water are very useful. Watering when less water will evaporate or run off is critical and drip systems are far better than spray systems in many settings. Outdoor watering systems that are eco-friendly can ensure a beautiful, neighborly and cost-efficient yard.
These eco-friendly plumbing solutions will reduce the waste of precious energy and help the environment.
The relatively small cost of upgrading your plumbing will pay off in energy savings and water usage – and that’s good for your wallet and the environment.
