Water Conservation Products
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Water Use
Canada is a country that is rich in fresh water, so it's understandable
that Canadians tend to take this resource for granted. Water is as close
as kitchens, bathrooms and laundry rooms in most Canadian homes. As soon
as we turn on the tap, there it is, flowing freely. But it's not free –
especially hot water. In fact, 15 percent of a typical energy bill goes to
heating water. While you can't do without water, there are ways you can
use less and save money. Also, leaks can be costly. A leak of only one
drop per second wastes about 9000 litres of water per year, or the
equivalent of 16 baths every month. Most leaks are easy to find and fix at
very little cost.
If you're planning to buy or rent a new water heater for your home,
here's a tip that could save you up to $100 per year: Bigger isn't
necessarily better.
Even if you're satisfied with the unit you've got, there are ways to
cut down on the energy you use to heat water. And you need look no further
than your home heating bill to remind you that any energy you save is
money in your pocket. What's more, using energy from fossil fuels produces
greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. Saving energy
means producing fewer of those emissions and helping our environment
become healthier for all of us.
The water heater is one of the biggest energy users in many Canadian
homes, second only to the furnace. So it makes sense to keep track of your
hot water consumption and make sure that the heater is running as
efficiently as possible.
If you're keeping an older hot water appliance, your first priority is
to insulate the heater itself and at least the first metre of piping. The
insulation pays for itself by preventing you from throwing valuable energy
into thin air.
The next step is to look at ways to reduce your hot water use. A
low-flow shower head can cut your water use in the shower by more than
30 percent. You can use water more wisely by fixing leaky taps and by
installing tap aerators that give you the same pressure with less water
flow. And you can reduce the energy you use for a load of laundry by
93 percent by washing and rinsing your clothes in cold water.
Remember, anything you do to save hot water will cut your energy bill as
well.
You can also reduce your cold water use by installing a modern,
low-flow toilet that uses less water to flush. Even if your water isn't
metered, a water-efficient toilet will make it easier for your
municipality to supply fresh water and handle wastewater, another load off
our environment.
The same energy and water-saving strategies will also apply if you're
in the market for a new water heater. Many of the newer units are more
efficient to begin with. But you can also save money by buying a smaller
heater if, for example, older children have left home and you're now using
less hot water.
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In the Bathroom
Showers
Energy-efficient shower heads conserve energy without changing water
pressure. Low-flow shower heads use up to 60 percent less water than
standard fixtures. Flow restrictors, on the other hand, reduce water use
from 19 to 11 litres per minute and can save up to 15 percent on your
hot water bill.
Consider a low-flow shower head with a shut-off button. The advantage
of the shut-off button is that it allows you to be very water efficient –
you can interrupt the flow while you lather up or shampoo and then resume
at the same flow rate and temperature.
In the bathroom, a flow rate of two litres per minute should
significantly reduce water consumption but also let you enjoy your
shower.
Take quick showers instead of baths; you’ll use up to 50 percent
less hot water. A five-minute shower, for instance, uses less than 38
litres of water, compared with 57 to 95 litres for a bath.
Toilets
Installing a water-saver flush kit in your toilet will save thousands
of litres of water per year. You can also replace large-volume toilets
with units that use only six litres per flush – you'll reduce water usage
by 70 percent or more.
Using the toilet as a wastebasket or flushing it unnecessarily wastes a
lot of water.
A toilet that continues to run after flushing, if the leak is large
enough, can waste up to 200,000 litres of water in a single year! To
find out if your toilet is leaking, put two or three drops of food
colouring in the tank at the back of the toilet. Wait a few minutes. If
the colour shows up in the bowl, there's a leak.
If your toilet leaks, make sure that the flush valve or flapper valve
is sitting properly in the valve seat. Also check that the flush valve
lift wires are not bent or misaligned and that the valve seat is not
corroded. All of these can be fixed easily and inexpensively. If, however,
the leak is around the base of the toilet where it sits on the floor, call
a professional.
Install a water-saving device inside the tank at the back of the
toilet. The most common water retention device available is the toilet
dam. When installed properly it will save about five litres per flush.
A plastic bag or bottle filled with water and suspended inside the
toilet tank could be a water displacement device that's easy to find and
install. However, don't use a brick! It can disintegrate inside the toilet
tank, leading to excessive leakage at the flapper valve and may even be
heavy enough to crack the tank.
Monitor the performance of the devices periodically. If you discover
that it becomes necessary to double flush the toilet, something needs to
be adjusted or replaced. Remember: double flushing defeats the purpose of
your water conservation efforts and is costing you money.
If you decide that it's time for a toilet replacement in your home or
business, you are well on your way to significant water savings that you
can bank on over the life of the toilet. Replacing an 18-litre-per-flush
toilet with an ultra-low-volume (ULV) six-litre flush model represents a
66 percent savings in water flushed and will cut indoor water use by
about 30 percent.
Remember, the ULV toilet not
only uses less water, it produces less wastewater. If your municipality
applies a sewer surcharge on your water bill, the investment in the better
toilet could translate into a 50 percent reduction in your combined
water/sewer bill. If your home uses a private well and septic system, you
can significantly reduce the load on your tile drain field while extending
its useful life.
If you run the tap while shaving, money is going down the drain along
with your whiskers. Partially fill the basin with hot water – you'll save
a lot of hot water.
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In the Kitchen
Rinsing dishes under the tap also wastes a lot of water. Rinse your
dishes in a large bowl of water, or partially fill one side of a double
sink. Here's another approach: slowly pour a bowl of water over dishes
after putting them in the drainer.
If you wash your dishes by hand, you use more water and energy than if
you use an automatic dishwasher.
Fix leaking faucets as soon as possible. A hot water faucet that leaks
one drip per second will waste 9000 litres per year. That's enough water
for 160 full cycles on an automatic dishwasher.
Keep a bottle of drinking water in the refrigerator rather than letting
your tap run to get cold water when you want a drink. (Rinse the bottle
every few days.)
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Outdoor Water Consumption
If you use water provided by your municipality, the water is usually
pumped from a source and treated with chemicals before you use it. Then it
is treated again before it is put back into the environment. All this
movement and treatment of water takes energy, and producing this energy
contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. The use of electricity or natural
gas for your water heater further adds to greenhouse gas emissions. So,
the less water used, the fewer emissions produced.
More than 50 percent of the water applied to lawns and gardens is
lost due to evaporation or to run-off because of overwatering. Find out
how much water your lawn really needs. As a general rule, most lawns and
gardens require little more than 2 to 3 cm (1 in.) of water per week.
To reduce losses due to evaporation, water early in the morning (after
the dew has dried).
Ideally, sprinklers should be suited to the size and shape of the lawn.
That way, you avoid watering driveways and sidewalks. Sprinklers that lay
water down in a flat pattern are better than oscillating sprinklers, which
lose as much as 50 percent of what they disperse through
evaporation.
Installing timers on outdoor taps can be a wise investment.
The water you use for your lawn doesn't have to come out of a tap. A
cistern, which captures and stores rainwater, can be used as a source of
irrigation water. A rain barrel can adequately fulfill this function.
The most significant savings come from a reduction in lawn area and
switching from exotic plant forms to native species that require less
water. In general, lawn areas should not exceed what is useful for play
and social activities and should be limited to the spaces where the family
spends its time.
When washing a car, fill a bucket with water and use a sponge. This can
save about 300 litres of water.
Consider a low-maintenance landscape – one that requires little more
water than nature provides. Often called xeriscaping, the principles of a
low-maintenance landscape are as follows:
- a reduced amount of lawn
- proper plant selection that makes use of native grasses, shrubs and
trees
- the use of rain barrels / roof drainage
- mulching to reduce evaporative losses around shrubs and trees
- a proper irrigation system with planned maintenance
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Water Heaters
Examine your water heater – if its surface is hot or even warm, some of
the energy used to heat the water is being wasted. Wrap the heater in an
insulating blanket. Be sure to check your user's manual and labels on the
tank first.
Some new water heaters have insulation and are highly energy efficient.
Adding a blanket may not make much difference.
Shopping for a new water heater? Look for a high-efficiency unit. Some
new models heat water only when you need it rather than storing hot water
in a tank.
When installing a new hot water tank or designing a new home, make sure
that you place the unit as close as possible to the kitchen, laundry and
bathrooms. Heat is lost in long pipe runs. For instance, reducing a
hot-water pipe from 10 to 3 metres will save enough energy in one
month to heat water for 10 showers. Similarly, thin pipes are more energy
efficient than thicker pipes; larger amounts of hot water are trapped in
thicker pipes, and more heat is lost.
To help reduce heat loss, always insulate hot water pipes, especially
where they run through unheated areas such as basements and crawl spaces.
Insulate the first three metres on cold water pipes and the first two
metres on hot water pipes running to and from tanks. This can save you
about 2 percent on your heating bill and can reduce pipe-sweating
problems in the summer. Do not place any pipe-wrap insulation within
15 cm of exhaust vents at the top of
water heaters, and never insulate plastic pipes.
Many water-heating tank manufacturers pre-set the temperature of the
tank to 60°C (140°F). You can lower the thermostat to as low as
55°C (130°F) to
save energy. Do not set it any lower, as this would risk the growth of
disease-carrying bacteria such as legion Ella.
If you are concerned about the possibility of scalding at 55°C, a plumber can install a tempering valve that
reduces the delivered water temperature while maintaining a safe
temperature in your tank. Tempering valves can also be installed on
individual taps where the risk is greatest to children, the infirm or
elderly. A professional installer will be able to provide you with
specific details about the best way to do this in your home.
Note: Some older dishwashers need to have the water at 60°C (140°F) in order to
work properly. If your dishwasher doesn't have an element to boost the
temperature, you may have to set the thermostat at 60°C. If you do, set the thermostat exactly at 60°C. Temperatures higher than this can shorten the life
of glass-lined water heaters.
Turn down your water-heater thermostat to a minimum setting when you
plan to be away for extended periods of time.
Twice a year, or monthly if you live in an area that has heavy mineral
deposits in the water, empty a bucket of water from your water heater. The
drain cock is usually found at the bottom of the unit. Be careful: the
water in the tank is especially hot. If you can, drain the tank when the
water is cold.
Never store anything on top of natural gas water heaters. Make sure
that combustion air openings at the bottom of these tanks – and opening
below the draft diverters at flue ducts on top – are always kept
unblocked.
For additional energy-saving tips, read the user's manual for your
home's water heater.
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Source: Natural Resources Canada
(NRCan) - Office of Energy
Efficiency
