With eco-friendly home products in mind, homeowners increasingly seek ways to decrease their environmental impact with sustainable home solutions. While insulation, solar panels, and energy-efficient lightbulbs are often the first upgrades when making your home more eco-friendly, other less obvious upgrades, such as your home’s plumbing, are still as important.
Environmental plumbing solutions help conserve water and energy while reducing waste and pollution. What are some ways you can incorporate sustainable plumbing in your home? Let’s look at a few options.
Water-Saving Fixtures: Efficiency at Its Best
Installing low-flow fixtures is one of the first steps when considering sustainable plumbing. With water conservation as a high priority in Utah and Western states, using water-saving plumbing fixtures is a simple way to conserve water and lower utility bills.
Some of the most popular fixtures to consider installing are high-efficiency toilets, performance shower heads, water-saving faucets, hot water recirculation pumps, pressure-reducing valves (PRVs), and water-saving appliances.
How much can installing these devices save you? According to the EPA, installing WaterSense-labeled shower heads can save up to 2,700 gallons of water annually. The EPA has also estimated that if every home in the United States installed these shower heads, the country could save more than $2.9 billion in water utility bills and 260 billion gallons annually!
Greywater Recycling: Reusing Water Responsibly
What is greywater? It’s water drained from bathroom sinks, laundry machines, showers, tubs, and dishwashers. While it is not clean drinking water, with a bit of treatment, it is safe to use in the home for additional purposes.
To keep up with water use and potential water shortages, some municipalities have begun installing greywater recycling systems in buildings. These unique systems allow greywater coming from the home to be filtered and used in toilets, giving the water a second use in the home instead of going straight into the sewer system. In some cases, the greywater can even be used for landscaping and watering outdoor plants.
Smart Plumbing Technologies for a Greener Home
It is becoming more common for homeowners to invest in smart home technologies, such as smart plumbing. Smart plumbing technologies give you more control over specific plumbing features in your home.
Smart plumbing solutions include leak detection sensors, automated shut-off systems, remote monitoring and control, water temperature control, water softeners, and efficiency reports. These solutions help homeowners save money and prevent other problems within the home, such as leaks and pipe bursts.
Sustainable Plumbing Practices for Everyday Use
Starting a habit of sustainable plumbing practices at home can go a long way in saving water. In many cases, homeowners may be using more water than they realize.
Simple habits such as reducing water usage, using water-saving devices, reusing water, harvesting rainwater, and using efficient irrigation techniques are all sustainable home solutions. Meet with family members and go over simple methods such as turning off the tap when it’s not in use, taking shorter showers, and running the dishwasher only when it’s full. A little effort goes a long way when you want to conserve water.
Trust Manwill with Your Sustainable Plumbing Solutions
Are you interested in green plumbing solutions? Manwill is the Utah plumber you can rely on for sustainable, affordable, eco-friendly plumbing. Since 1920, we’ve established ourselves as an industry leader, Best of State recipient, and proud winner of Salt Lake City Best Plumber and Heat & Air company for two consecutive years. We pride ourselves on ensuring our technicians stay updated with cutting-edge technologies like smart plumbing. Need work done in your house? Contact us today for a free quote!
