5 Water-Saving Innovations That Can Also Save Energy

If you're a homeowner who cares about the environment, choosing eco solutions that do double duty by saving both water and energy can be a great idea. And even if you're more concerned with saving money on your water bill, appliances and innovations that save energy as well can help you save even more money.

Here are some innovations for your home that can save on both of these resources.

Your showerhead doesn't just use water; it uses heated water (unless you take cold showers every day). So reducing the flow rate can help you save double on both water and the energy needed to heat the water. Fortunately, several different technologies now exist to help reduce the hot water used in your shower while still letting you rinse easily and stay warm and comfy during your morning ablutions.

Some low-flow showerheads use pressurized streams of water to provide a strong flow, while others mix in air with the water droplets to help it spread further so less water is needed.

Bidets are becoming more popular in America because they allow you to save money on toilet paper and are considered eco-friendly. A non-invasive way to add a bidet to your daily routine is by installing a bidet attachment on your toilet.

Although the bidet doesn't reduce your energy bill and does add around two cups of water to each toilet flush, it's still considered much more efficient than the energy and water use needed to manufacture toilet paper.

Typical, use of a continuous feed garbage disposal involves running the motor while simultaneously running the water to help flush debris through the machine and down the drain. But if you use a batch feed model garbage disposal, you can save on energy and water.

Batch feed disposals don't require running water at all, and you can run the motor for exactly as long as needed to grind up the pre-loaded batch of food.

The appliances that wash your clothes and your dishes typically use both water and energy with each load. Choosing eco-friendly dishwasher and washing machine models can help you save quite a bit of energy and water on a daily basis.

For example, you could save two gallons of water per cycle on an Energy Star dishwasher, and an energy star clothes washer could save you around $35worth of water and electricity combined per year.

A tankless water heater that produces water on demand uses less electricity because it's not keeping a tank full of water hot throughout the day. And because of the tankless heater's smaller size, you also have the option to install it close to where it's used. This could mean having one small heater in the kitchen and another at the other end of the house for showers.

Having the heater close to where it's used means you'll lose less heat in transit, and it also means you won't have to run the shower for a long time while you wait for the water to heat up, which wastes water.

These water-saving innovations in appliances and plumbing fixtures can also allow you to save energy so that you have both lower water bills and lower energy bills throughout the year as well as a reduced impact on the environment.

For more information on appliances and plumbing fixtures that can reduce your utility costs and improve your lifestyle, get in touch with Express Plumbing & Drain Servicestoday. We'll be glad to help you retrofit or install greener, more efficient plumbing and appliances to modernize your home and make it more efficient.