Save Water at Home |
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Melody Warnick
1. High-efficiency appliances The Energy Star label is the gold standard for efficient energy use among appliances, but the designation also indicates water efficiency for dishwashers and washing machines. The Energy Star-rated Whirlpool Gold Super Capacity Tall Tub Dishwasher, for instance, uses just 6 gallons per cycle, not 12-14 like older models, and its soil sensors ensure that wash cycles use less water if dishes aren't as dirty. Not all Energy Star appliances are created equal, however. Kenmore's HE4t front-loading washer uses an average of just 5,200 gallons of water per year, while some other Energy Star-rated washers use three times as many; so check labels carefully when you're buying. 2. Grey water collection A grey water system conserves water by reusing it: Instead of going down the drain, the soapy water from a shower or a washing machine fills a surge tank, and is then used to irrigate your yard. One of the more controversial methods of water conservation, grey water collection isn't legal in every state as local leaders wrestle with the ramifications of allowing untreated alkaline water to soak into soil. But for homeowners who install their own grey water systems, the benefits include saving a significant amount of water and extending the life of your septic tank, according to Art Ludwig, an ecological systems designer and owner of Oasis Design in Santa Barbara, Calif. "If you accept that houses generate grey water, the best way to deal with it is usually a grey water system," he says. "Certainly anybody who is ecologically oriented would have a hard time defending any other position." (For information on creating your own grey water irrigation system, visit http://www.greywater.net.) 3. Rainwater collection system In the Texas Hill Country near San Antonio, well water can be hard to come by, so architect Stephen Colley recommends relying on rainwater instead to his clients who are building homes in the area. Using a non-asphalt roof as a catchment area, a rainwater collection system funnels water into a cistern, then sends it through a series of micron filters and an ultraviolet bath to kill bacteria. Instead of spending money on a water bill, homeowners simply pay for the electricity needed to pump water from their cistern into their home's regular plumbing system. "We cut out the middleman," Colley says. Even a brief rain event on a 2,000-square-foot roof surface could add 650 gallons to the cistern. Homeowner Dan Pomerening of San Antonio uses rainwater collected in two 11,000-gallon cisterns for his 2,700-square-foot house. One unforeseen advantage, he says, is the high quality of the water. "I don't have the calcium buildup that's typical of well water here," he notes. 4. Zoned irrigation controllers While indoor water use has been dropping since the early 1990s, outdoor residential water use has climbed to 50-70 percent of total water demand. The biggest sponge is your lawn. There are several ways to control the amount of water you use outside. For instance, instead of allowing your sprinklers to dowse the entire lawn, invest in a multi-function timer that can be programmed to water different zones, like trees, shrubs, flower beds and turf. "An older-style irrigation control will give you an on/off button, but a multi-function controller will let you water your trees once a week and your lawn four to five times a week," explains Tracey Berry, a commercial conservation specialist with City of Tucson Water in Arizona. Changing your irrigation schedule with each season will also reduce over-watering and runoff. 5. Lawn humidity sensors Another way to prevent over-watering is to install a relative humidity sensor, like the Weathermiser from WeatherMiser Energy Efficiency Corp., in Albuquerque, N.M. It monitors humidity and evaporation, and it electronically interrupts your sprinkler cycle if moist conditions render watering unnecessary. A more high-tech version is the WeatherTRAK system, which is installed in John Laing Homes' Holiday homes. The controller receives up-to-the-minute satellite data on weather conditions for your area and adjusts its irrigation of your landscape accordingly. "After the first year, you pay about $7 a month for the satellite service," says Dean Williams, CEO of Silver Oak Technologies, an Irvine, Calif.-based company that supplies irrigation systems. "But you're going to save that much in water, without question." 6. Xeriscaping Finally, an option used by many homeowners, particularly in the Southwest, is to do away with the lawn altogether. Xeriscaping - landscaping with native, drought-tolerant plants instead of turf - is one of the best ways to conserve residential water. To become a Water Smart builder, KB Home completely eliminated grass from front yards in its communities, putting in drought-tolerant vegetation, boulders or stone riverbeds to add beauty. Similarly, John Laing Homes' Holiday development used "a plant palette that isn't like what we do everywhere else - which is basically put in a lawn and flood it," says Vic Goochey, vice president for operations at John Laing Homes' Inland Empire Division in California. The yards do include a small swath of turf, but it's a hybrid variety that requires less water. Conserving water at home doesn't demand a major sacrifice, but it does require being water-wise. "The more we conserve water, the more we'll have bountiful streams and healthy lakes that our communities can enjoy and be proud of," says Vickers. "But until we get a grip on excessive water use, we'll witness great diminishment in fresh water. That's happening now." Melody Warnick profiled green architect Joaquin Karcher in the May/June 2006 issue of Smart HomeOwner. She's based in Ames, Iowa. |
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