As a knowledgeable homeowner, you may likely be concerned about the overall sustainability of your home’s plumbing system. This holds especially true if your home is outdated and uses many old plumbing fixtures. Fortunately, numerous eco-friendly plumbing upgrades are available to help reduce your water and energy consumption.
Tankless Water Heater
One of the most beneficial upgrades is a tankless water heater installation. These water heaters operate only when hot water is needed and are significantly more energy efficient. The EPA estimates that homeowners can save between 30 and 40% on their water heating bills annually by switching from a tank-style to a tankless water heater.
High-Efficiency Toilet
If the toilets in your home are over 40 years old, they’re likely using a significant amount of water with every flush. Many of these older toilets use anywhere from five to seven gallons of water every time you flush. Modern-day toilets only use around 1.6 gallons per flush, while high-efficiency toilet models will use only 1.28 gallons per flush. While upgrading to a modern toilet is a great start, you may want to consider taking it a step further and going with a high-efficiency model.
Low-Flow Fixtures
Another great upgrade to consider for your home is replacing your bathroom plumbing with low-flow fixtures. These typically come with bathroom and kitchen faucets as well as shower heads. These low-flow fixtures have an integrated aerator that’s responsible for mixing air with the water coming out of the spout. This helps put pressure in the water while reducing your water consumption.
Greywater Recycling Systems
Water that comes out of your sinks and appliances is considered greywater. This wastewater can be easily reused for outdoor activities, such as watering your lawn or garden. By installing a greywater recycling system, you can help reuse that water without wasting more for your outdoor activities.
Smart Irrigation System
If you have an irrigation system at your home, you can likely benefit from upgrading to a smart irrigation system. This innovative technology features leak detection sensors, allowing you to know immediately whenever there’s a problem with your system. Some of these will even come with integrated smart valves. When the system detects a leak, it can quickly shut off the water to the location where the leak is to prevent an expensive water bill.
Some of these smart irrigation systems integrate with local weather forecasts and adjust the watering of your lawn based on the amount of rain received in a day. This is great for saving water on days when your lawn is already well-moist from the rainfall.
Hot Water Recirculation System
Most homeowners are familiar with turning on their hot water and waiting for the temperature of the water to go from cold to hot. This can take quite a bit of time, especially if your water heater is located a considerable distance away from the plumbing fixture you’re trying to access for hot water. A hot water recirculation system eliminates waiting and water waste by constantly circulating water in your hot water line back into the water heater. This ensures that as soon as you turn on your hot water faucet, you get hot water instantly. This is great for reducing the water waste that typically happens while you’re waiting for the water to warm up.
ENERGY STAR Appliances
Another easy upgrade to make your home more eco-friendly is to invest in ENERGY STAR appliances. All your appliances that use electricity, like your washing machine and dishwasher, can benefit from having this certification. Any appliance that does is going to use less energy and water than appliances that don’t have the certification.
PEX Piping
Whenever your home needs repiping, you may want to consider switching to PEX. This material is much easier to work with than traditional copper, as it will flex around corners and other locations. Due to this flexibility, PEX typically requires fewer fittings than traditional copper piping. Additionally, PEX requires much less energy to produce than copper does.
Insulate Piping
One easy upgrade you can do to make your home more eco-friendly is to invest in insulation for your water pipes. This insulation will help minimize heat loss from your hot water pipes and protect your cold-water pipes from freezing when temperatures drop. Additionally, consider adding insulation around your water heater, as it will help it retain its heat more effectively.
Water Softener System
If you have hard water at your home, one great upgrade you can make is investing in a water softener system. This will help remove the excess minerals from your water so that they don’t cause corrosion on the inside of your piping materials and plumbing fixtures. Not only will a water softener system help extend the overall longevity of all your plumbing system’s components so fewer go to the landfill, but it will also reduce the amount of energy that your water heater uses. Hard water takes more energy to heat up than soft water. By making your water softer, your water heater will use less energy to heat your water to the same temperature.
Water Filtration System
If you rely on bottled water for drinking, consider investing in a whole-home water filtration system. There are many different options available, including reverse osmosis systems and UV purification systems. These are great for filtering out unwanted contaminants in your water and improving its overall taste. By having good-tasting tap water, you can rely less on bottled water and reduce your plastic consumption.
Smart Plumbing System
Another must-have when it comes to making your plumbing system more eco-friendly is a smart plumbing system. With a smart water heater, you can set what hours you want the water heater to keep the water warm. They often have a vacation mode to turn off the water heater when you won’t be using any hot water for an extended time.
You can also look into leak detection systems. These systems feature integrated components that provide you with more information about your water usage. There are various sensors that you can place under locations such as your sink and near your appliances to detect water leaks. If there is, this system will use its smart valves to shut off the water supply to that particular location.
This will help prevent water damage to your home and stop unnecessary water leakage until you can repair the problem. This can be great for learning about hidden plumbing leaks in your home that you might not notice until you receive your water bill.
Pressure-Reducing Valve
The amount of pressure that’s coming in from the main water supply line in your municipality can be higher than what you need in your home. Installing a pressure-reducing valve is an effective way to reduce the pressure of your water as it flows through your piping. By reducing this pressure flow, you can lower your water consumption while still maintaining adequate pressure in your pipes.
Great Plumbing Upgrade Service
Ribbs Plumbing Services provides exceptional plumbing upgrade services to the San Jose, CA community. We can also help with all your plumbing repair, installation, and maintenance needs. Simply call us today to book your next service appointment with one of our knowledgeable plumbers.
