Archive for the ‘Water Conservation’ Category

Dear Santa, Please Bring Me Some New Plumbing Accessories (Really!!!)

Wednesday, December 15th, 2010

When most people think of holiday gifts for their family, chances are they’re not considering…plumbing. But maybe it’s time to think again. Everyone uses toilets, sinks, and showers every day – which means that making improvements to your plumbing will make your entire family more comfortable, every day! The right plumbing upgrades can help your family enjoy mornings more, get fewer colds, savor great European style, and save money on utility bills (money that you can put towards that new car, or a dream vacation).

Plumbing upgrades are also a great green gift. They save water and energy, and they last for years – much better than cheap, disposable stuff that will just wind up in the landfill.

So, while we’re not necessarily recommending that you completely forget about jewelry, toys, and electronics, we do think you should consider adding plumbing improvements to your gift list.

Here are some suggestions for some great, relatively inexpensive plumbing improvements that your family will enjoy every day:

  • Insulate your hot water pipes, and put a blanket over your hot water heater. This is often touted as a money-saving measure (and it is) – but it has the wonderful side effect of making your water hotter as it comes out of your sink or shower. You can’t put this under the tree…but wouldn’t your family enjoy waking up to lovely warm showers on Christmas morning? This is a great gift if you’re strapped for cash, because the materials for insulating your pipes and heater are very inexpensive – the biggest part of the gift is a couple of hours of your time and effort. Read our blog post on insulating your hot water pipes to find out how easy it is to do.
  • Replace your old water-saving shower head with one of the new-generation water-saving shower heads. Those old aerators were virtuous, but they can be chilly and a little prickly.  With the right new shower head, you’ll never even know that you’re saving water – you’ll just feel like you’re in a luxury hotel. You can get a wide range of fun styles and functions, including rain shower heads, massage shower heads, you name it. (Pair a new shower head with insulating your pipes to really kick your family’s shower experience up a notch!)

When most people think of holiday gifts for their family, chances are they’re not considering…plumbing. But maybe it’s time to think again. Everyone uses toilets, sinks, and showers every day – which means that making improvements to your plumbing will make your entire family more comfortable, every day! The right plumbing upgrades can help your family enjoy mornings more, get fewer colds, savor great European style, and save money on utility bills (money that you can put towards that new car, or a dream vacation).

Plumbing upgrades are also a great green gift. They save water and energy, and they last for years – much better than cheap, disposable stuff that will just wind up in the landfill.

So, while we’re not necessarily recommending that you completely forget about jewelry, toys, and electronics, we do think you should consider adding plumbing improvements to your gift list.

Here are some suggestions for some great, relatively inexpensive plumbing improvements that your family will enjoy every day:

· Insulate your hot water pipes, and put a blanket over your hot water heater. This is often touted as a money-saving measure (and it is) – but it has the wonderful side effect of making your water hotter as it comes out of your sink or shower. You can’t put this under the tree…but wouldn’t your family enjoy waking up to lovely warm showers on Christmas morning? This is a great gift if you’re strapped for cash, because the materials for insulating your pipes and heater are very inexpensive – the biggest part of the gift is a couple of hours of your time and effort. (Read our blog post on insulating your hot water pipes to find out how easy it is to do.) [Link to: http://www.milani.ca/blog/plum

When most people think of holiday gifts for their family, chances are they’re not considering…plumbing. But maybe it’s time to think again. Everyone uses toilets, sinks, and showers every day – which means that making improvements to your plumbing will make your entire family more comfortable, every day! The right plumbing upgrades can help your family enjoy mornings more, get fewer colds, savor great European style, and save money on utility bills (money that you can put towards that new car, or a dream vacation).

Plumbing upgrades are also a great green gift. They save water and energy, and they last for years – much better than cheap, disposable stuff that will just wind up in the landfill.

So, while we’re not necessarily recommending that you completely forget about jewelry, toys, and electronics, we do think you should consider adding plumbing improvements to your gift list.

Here are some suggestions for some great, relatively inexpensive plumbing improvements that your family will enjoy every day:

  • Insulate your hot water pipes, and put a blanket over your hot water heater. This is often touted as a money-saving measure (and it is) – but it has the wonderful side effect of making your water hotter as it comes out of your sink or shower. You can’t put this under the tree…but wouldn’t your family enjoy waking up to lovely warm showers on Christmas morning? This is a great gift if you’re strapped for cash, because the materials for insulating your pipes and heater are very inexpensive – the biggest part of the gift is a couple of hours of your time and effort. (Read our blog post on insulating your hot water pipes to find out how easy it is to do.) [Link to: http://www.milani.ca/blog/plumbing/prevent-frozen-pipes/]
  • Replace your old water-saving showerhead with one of the new-generation water-saving showerheads. [Link to: http://www.milani.ca/blog/energy-savings/waterconserving-faucets-and-showerheads/] Those old aerators were virtuous, but they can be chilly and a little prickly.  With the right new showerhead, you’ll never even know that you’re saving water – you’ll just feel like you’re in a luxury hotel. You can get a wide range of fun styles and functions, including rain showerheads, massage showerheads, you name it. (Pair a new showerhead with insulating your pipes to really kick your family’s shower experience up a notch!)

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· Replace your old water-saving showerhead with one of the new-generation water-saving showerheads. [Link to: http://www.milani.ca/blog/energy-savings/waterconserving-faucets-and-showerheads/] Those old aerators were virtuous, but they can be chilly and a little prickly. With the right new showerhead, you’ll never even know that you’re saving water – you’ll just feel like you’re in a luxury hotel. You can get a wide range of fun styles and functions, including rain showerheads, massage showerheads, you name it. (Pair a new showerhead with insulating your pipes to really kick your family’s shower experience up a notch!)

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Touch-Free Faucets: Green Plumbing That’s Fun and Easy!

Wednesday, December 8th, 2010

One fun, high-tech, and relatively inexpensive way to go green is to install a touch-free faucet in your kitchen or bathroom. Touch-free faucets work on a very simple principle: when you’re not actively using them, they shut off. There are a lot of times when you leave a normal faucet on simply because your hands are full (i.e. when you’re washing something), or soapy. With a touch-free faucet, the water turns off during all these gaps in your actual water usage. According to industry estimates, the result can be a water savings of up to 70%.

Of course, most of us have encountered touch-free faucets in public restrooms, and they can be frustrating. You can end up waving your hands around wildly, hoping a faucet somewhere in the room will turn on, and then the water cuts off mid-stream, just when your hands are full of soap. However, new sensor technology is making touch-free faucets much easier to use. These sensors are “omni-directional”, meaning that when your hands are anywhere within a given radius around the tap, the water will turn on and stay on.

Top-of-the-line models can dispense filtered water for drinking, and one designer model has a digital LED screen that allows you to adjust the water temperature, fill a glass with drinking water, or dispense dishwashing detergent, soap, or even hand lotion – all by waving your hand in front of the desired function. Some models also have manual override, which enables you to push a button so that the faucet will stay on for a certain time period without shutting off, even if you move your hands away.

Alternatively, if you like your current faucet and want to keep it, you can add a touch-free faucet adaptor to your existing faucet. Adaptors start at about $50.

Touch-free faucets and adaptors are surprisingly easy to install – no more difficult than conventional faucets. They can be powered by an AC adaptor or batteries, so you can install them almost anywhere.

In addition to the water savings, there are other benefits to touch-free faucets as well:

  • Touch-free faucets are much easier to use than regular faucets – especially if your hands are dirty, soapy, or full.
  • Touch-free faucets are much more sanitary than conventional faucets. With conventional faucets, you turn them on with dirty hands, wash your hands carefully, and then immediately touch the dirty handles again to turn off the faucet.
  • Touch-free faucets allow you to set the water temperature precisely for improved comfort and safety.
  • Touch-free faucets are ADA compliant for people with disabilities.
  • Touch-free faucets are helpful for older people or small children who may forget to turn off the faucet when they are finished
  • Kids love touch-free faucets – no more arguments about hand-washing!
  • Touch-free faucets make your bathroom or kitchen look really cool and high-tech.

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Plumbing Is Going Green! Start with Simple Upgrades to Your Faucets and Showerheads

Wednesday, December 1st, 2010

When people talk about “green building”, they’re typically referring to energy-efficient heating and cooling appliances, insulated walls and windows, and sustainable materials. But these days “green plumbing” is getting increasing attention – and rightly so, because water consumption is a major factor in the environmental footprint of any building! The green plumbing movement is being led by drought-prone Australia, where it’s even possible for plumbers to earn a Green Plumbing Certification.

“Green plumbing” helps the environment by doing one or more of the following:

  • Saving water
  • Saving energy
  • Using environmentally-friendly materials

In the US, LEED Certification is becoming increasingly popular, which means that green plumbing systems are being installed in many new or substantially renovated buildings. But green plumbing improvements don’t have to be big and expensive. In fact, they start at under $20.

Over the course of the next few blog posts, we’ll look at a range of green plumbing upgrades – some that you can do yourself, and others that require professional assistance.

In this first post of our “Green Plumbing” series, we’ll look at the simplest and most affordable green plumbing upgrade you can make: installing low-flow faucet accessories and showerheads.

How do low-flow showerheads and faucet accessories work?

Low-flow showerheads and faucet accessories (often referred to as aerators, which is the most popular type) attach to existing fixtures. Normal-flow showerheads use about six to seven gallons per minute (GPM), and the water comes out at about 80 psi (lbs per square inch, a measure of pressure). Of course, if you try to use less water with a normal showerhead, the stream is flat and insubstantial – a very unsatisfactory shower experience. Low-flow showerheads solve this problem by forcing the water into a narrower opening, which reduces the amount of water that comes out, but maintains the pressure at 80 psi for a nice strong stream. (It’s like partially blocking the end of a hose with your thumb to increase the force of the water coming out – except that low-flow faucets and showerheads reduce the size of the stream only a little, just enough to maintain existing pressure with less water.)

Low-flow faucet accessories work the same way.

There are two different kinds of low-flow faucets and showerheads:

  • Aerating faucet accessories and showerheads mix air into the water stream for steady pressure. The steady stream sensation is very popular with consumers. However, mixing air into the water can lead to a reduction in water temperature, which can be a drawback for showers during the winter months.
  • Non-aerating faucet accessories and showerheads don’t mix air into the water, which results in a pulse-like rather than a steady-state stream. Not everyone likes the pulse effect, but those who do say it feels like a gentle massage. Non-aerating faucet accessories and showerheads maintain water temperature very well.

How can you tell if you need a low-flow faucet or showerhead?

The EPA standard for new residential lavatory (bathroom) faucets is 1.5 GPM (gallons per minute). Your current faucet may have an aerator on it already, and if it does, it will have the GPM stamped on the side. If the GPM of your existing aerator is greater than 1.5, you should upgrade to a new high-efficiency faucet aerator. If you don’t have an aerator, check to see if the inside of your faucet has threads (grooves) for an aerator to be screwed into it. If it does, install an aerator.

If you already have a low-flow showerhead, check the side of the showerhead to see if it has a flow rate of 2.0 GPM (the new EPA standard for showers). If you don’t already have a low-flow showerhead, you can test your shower to see if its flow rate is too high. Put a two-quart saucepan on the floor of the shower and position it in the middle of the shower stream. Turn the shower on at full pressure and count how many seconds it takes to fill the pan. If it takes fewer than 15 seconds, you would probably benefit from a high-efficiency showerhead.

How much water will a high-efficiency faucet or showerhead save?

It depends on how much water your sink or shower used before you installed the upgrade. The only way to know for sure is to check your utility bills over the next few months and compare them to the same time period during the previous year. If you want to feel good about your decision right away, you can get a rough estimate as follows: assume that your current showerhead uses 2.5 GPM (this is a very common flow rate for modern showerheads). A new 1.5 GPM showerhead will make your shower 40% more efficient. Use your utility bill to calculate 20% of your total water usage (this is the amount typically used for showering), then take 40% of that number. Multiply this by your cost-per-gallon, and you’ll have your savings!

How do I find high-efficiency faucet accessories and showerheads?

When you go to your local plumbing supply store, look for the EPA WaterSense label. This is the equivalent of the EnergyStar label, and all products bearing this label meet the new EPA water use guidelines.

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It’s No Trick – Dual-Flush Toilets Are a Treat for Your Budget

Wednesday, October 27th, 2010

604-630-7747

Here’s a great trick for saving money on your water bills!

If you’ve travelled to Europe or Australia, you’ve probably seen a dual-flush toilet. Dual-flush toilets have two buttons instead of a single flush handle. Pressing one button flushes the toilet lightly to remove liquid waste, and pressing the other produces a higher-volume flush to remove solid waste.

A dual-flush toilet saves water and money

A dual-flush toilet saves water and money

Originally designed for drought-prone Australia, these water-saving toilets are becoming increasingly popular in North America as well.

Standard 1.6-gallon (6 litre) toilets are a great improvement over older toilets, which used 3 or even more gallons (11 litres) per flush. But dual-flush toilets are even more water-efficient. A “full flush” uses 1.53 gallons (just under 6 litres) per flush, and a “half flush” uses only 1.02 gallons (just under 4 litres) per flush. The smaller flush volumes mean that installing a new dual-flush toilet can reduce your toilet water usage by up to  68% (even more if your conventional toilet is old and leaky).

Of course the savings vary from person to person, but if you use the toilet an average of 5 times a day, you’ll save close to 600 gallons (over 2200 litres) of water every year. A family of four could save 2400 gallons (around 9000 litres) annually. And, since toilet usage typically accounts for roughly a quarter of your water bill, that can mean a monthly savings of close to 17%.

The new dual-flush toilets are a win for the environment and a win for you. So…

Treat the planet – and your budget – to a new dual-flush toilet with our $100 rebate!

P.S. Happy Halloween, everyone. Enjoy trick-or-treating – and stay safe!

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