There are a lot of ways to be environmentally friendly and a lot of people are doing their part to protect the planet. Some people forego their gas guzzling sports utility vehicles in favor of bicycles and public transportation. Some people install solar panels onto their roofs for a low cost, zero emission way to power their homes. There is no limit on the ways you can adjust your lifestyle to be more environmentally conscious. Plumbing, for example, is one area that can be “greened” with just a little bit of effort, time and money. Below are some tips for green plumbing.
Green Plumbing Tip #1 – Lower your water heater temperature. This green plumbing tip will save you money, and help you use a lot less energy with little effort on a daily basis. Check the temperature on your water heater. It should not be any higher than 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Just dialing the temperature down can cut your costs on your energy bills by up to 5 percent. You will not even notice any difference in your hot water. Doing this serves another purpose, too. It slows down the pace of the corrosion of your water heater and pipes and the buildup of minerals, extending the life of your water heater.
Green Plumbing Tip #2 – Insulate your water heater. Most new water heaters come with an insulator but make sure you check yours to see if yours has one. If you water heater is hot to the touch, you need to get an insulator. This can lower your costs by up to 9 percent.
Green Plumbing Tip #3 – Use drip irrigation in your garden. Drip irrigation is a great system for lowering how much water you use. Developed in Israel and spread to third world countries where water is very scarce, drip irrigation is all about making do with very little water. It can lower your water consumption by up to 50 percent, saving a gardener over a thousand dollars over the system’s lifetime.
Green Plumbing Tip #4 – Install low-flush toilets. This is a bigger project than many people do on a regular basis, but if you need a new toilet, then make sure you get a low-flush toilet. It cuts down on water usage, which is really excessive in standard toilets. A low-flush toilet can save as many as 28 gallons of water per person per day.
Green Plumbing Tip #5 – Fix any leaky faucets. This should go without saying, but a lot of people leave dripping faucets unfixed for months. This wastes a lot of water and you should not let this happen in your home! Call a plumber if you can’t fix your faucet yourself.
Green Plumbing Tip #6 – Use your dishwasher and use it wisely. It is better to use your dishwasher than to hand wash your dishes because it uses less water. But make sure you load your dishwasher fully so that you do not waste water.
Green Plumbing Tip #7 – Buy an on-demand hot water pump. This is a good investment for someone looking to really go green with their plumbing and water usage. An on-demand hot water pump sends hot water to the fixtures in just a few seconds, instead of leaving hot water standing, sitting unused in your pipes.
Green Plumbing Tip #8 – Buy a leak monitoring device. A lot of times we do not even know we have leaks, meaning that water is dripping and being wasted without our knowledge. Buying a leak monitoring device can fix this problem. It will let you know when there is a leaky faucet, pipe, or toilet as soon as the problem arises. When it does arise, you can call a plumber immediately and have the leak stopped before too much water is wasted.
Green Plumbing Tip #9 – Cut down your shower time. According to BestNJPlumber.com, “Shorter showers mean your home is consuming less energy (gas or electricity) to produce hot water. It also means that water treatment plants don’t need to generate as much clean water for you to use. In total, you could prevent 350 lbs of harmful Carbon Dioxide being released into the environment and reduce your energy bills by $100-150 per person, per year.”
These changes can cut down your water use, save you money, and protect the planet. There is no reason not to implement these changes today!
Jim Klossner is a writer for John J Cahill, Inc. Jim enjoys writing about plumbing and heating and cooling topics.
I love this Blog post! My family is very passionate about “going green” and we have many questions about how to do whats best in our bathroom to save on water. We are now wanting to get a plumber to replace our not-so-efficient toilets. I hope it has a nice result on the Earth. Please keep me posted on future blogs.