As daily pursuits turn toward a more “green” way of living, people are looking for ways to better conserve natural resources. When you consider Americans use nearly four hundred thousand gallons of water a year, it’s natural to want to do your part to save it for the future.
As the most household water is consumed or used in the bathroom, it may be a good time to condition the family to take measures to converse its usage. Here are a few suggestions to saving water and cutting down on your bills as well.
Check often for leaks. Leaks may occur without your knowing, so it’s important to remain vigilant. One good way to determine if your toilet is leaking, for example, is to put food coloring in the tank. Don’t flush, though, because you’ll want to check the bowl in about fifteen minutes. If you see color in the bowl, chances are you have a leak that needs repair.
Use economical fixtures. Installing a low-flow toilet and shower head will reduce the amount of water used on a daily basis. Make sure, too, you don’t flush anything that can’t go into the toilet: diapers, wet wipes, and similar objects.
Turn off the faucet! Don’t leave the water running when you brush your teeth. You could let as much as two full glasses of water go to waste! Same goes for shaving and washing your face.
Plug it up! When running water for a bath, use the plug first rather than run water for warmth through the drain. You’ll still be able to enjoy the temperature you want without being wasteful.
Just a few small steps toward conservation can help your household become more attuned to saving energy and our natural resources. It’s also good for saving money.
By: Kathryn Lively
Posts Tagged ‘Saving Money’
Water Conservation in the Bathroom
April 25th, 2010Practice Water Conservation With Irrigation and Mulch
April 19th, 2010
As we near the end of summer and thoughts of getting our children back to school and making those last minute end of season trips abound, we also need to spend time on our lawns and making sure that it is prepped for the coming fall. Homeowners in today’s green-conscious world have quickly turned more and more to the most efficient lawn care methods that will translate into savings for our wallets. Beyond saving money is water conservation, which affects both us and the environment we live in.
In this article, we will focus on irrigation and mulch, two areas of lawn care that should be considered for all homeowners with the desire to conserve and decrease water consumption and a cost-efficient way to cultivate the lawn and landscape.
Irrigation
Lawn sprinklers and irrigation systems are known to be quite wasteful, consuming two or three times more water than the water used indoors. Experts report that much of the water applied to a lawn is lost due to poor application practices, high evaporation, uneven distribution, and excessive runoff. To combat these lawn ails, an efficient irrigation (or sprinkler) system and watering schedule is necessary.
Irrigation Techniques
To make the best use of irrigation, divide your plants up into groups or zones with the same watering needs. Lawns, plants in containers, vegetable beds and fruit orchards may need more water than other plants such as trees, shrubs, perennials, and bulbs. Your irrigation system should reflect your different plants’ watering requirements and only fulfill what is absolutely necessary to maintain your greenery. Be sure to understand your watering zones and check that these systems are not giving too much or too little water to the plants or lawn area.
An efficient watering system such as drip or soaker hoses can be used to minimize water loss through evaporation or runoff. Lawn experts further recommend that, for reducing evaporation, operate your irrigation system during the cooler hours of the early morning rather than during the heat of the day or in windy weather.
Turf would be best irrigated with sprinklers, since infrequent, but deep watering can encourage deeper root growth and greater tolerance of soil moisture fluctuations. Keep in mind that about 1.5 inches of water are needed per week for the summer. If you are not sure how much water your system is delivering to your plants, simply place a bowl or a cup in the area before the sprinkler system comes on then remove it when the system cuts off. Then all you have to do is measure the collected water. If this amount is more or less than the recommended amount, adjust your system accordingly.
Maintain Your System
It is important to not only make sure sure your irrigation is working efficiently to get your plants and lawn the water they need, but also crucial to check up on your irrigation system to be certain that it’s functioning correctly. This includes checking the system for leaks, broken heads, faulty valves, and other malfunctions. You may also want to check that water isn’t being misdirected onto sidewalks, driveways, or streets.
Mulch
Mulch can act as both a protection for your plants from the heat as well as an agent to trap and retain moisture. With water conservation a big issue for homeowners, mulch is more important than ever as a way to efficiently keep your plants healthy and protect from harsh conditions. Mulching helps to maintain a more consistent soil temperature and can also control weeds that may otherwise consume water meant for garden plants.
While you may not be able to control your water consumption all the time, you can definitely make an impact on both your water bill and your local community by following lawn care methods that are focused around water conservation and efficient cultivation methods.
By: Fran Phalin
Home Energy and Water Conservation – Where to Start?
April 10th, 2010
Like many topics, energy and water conservation is very subjective. There is no truly best practice because:
- what is best in one set of factors may not be best in a different set of factors (e.g. electric tankless water heaters may be best where the energy is supplied by a solar PV panel but not when it comes from a coal burning power generation station), and
- each person has different beliefs and priorities (e.g. saving the planet at all costs vs saving money at all costs vs anywhere in between)
It can be very confusing reading all of the various articles in newspapers and magazines and internet blogs in order for the average Joe home owner to zero in on the energy conservation tips that are important to her or him based on their own personal beliefs and desires.
So, what are the different attributes that could be used to categorize one home energy conservation tip from another? Here are the different attributes we use to help distinguish one home energy conservation tips from another:
Energy or Clean Water Conservation Category
The type of energy reduced by the energy conservation tip or whether the clean water conservation tip related to usage within the home or outside on the household’s yard.
Installation Complexity
The level of difficulty for the average home owner to install the tip
Installation Cost
The cost to the home owner to install / adhere to the energy conservation tip
Frequency
The number of times the energy conservation tip may need to be repeated
Payback Potential
The relative potential for the average home owner to save money by implementing the tip
As well, it is hard to find a simple listing of various energy conservation tips for the home which uses all of the above attributes to allow the home owner to very quickly find those which are important to her or him. Keep looking. They are out there. Don’t stop looking because of your frustration. Saving your hard earned money by taking steps to reduce the energy consumed in your house is too important to your wallet and to the planet for our future generations.
To view the over 500 home energy and water conservation tips we have collected which are grouped by all of the above categories, simply select the link below.
By: Dan Powell
