3 Water-Saving Fixtures That Help Lower Your Monthly Water Bills

Over the last decade, the average water bill for households in the United States has risen to 43% across states. The US Environmental Protection Agency created a program known as WaterSense to aid consumers in identifying and purchasing water-saving fixtures. Using water-saving fixtures also saves consumers money on their monthly water bills. Therefore, if you are looking to minimize your water consumption bills without making over-the-top sacrifices, read on to discover three water-saving fixtures you should consider.

1. Water-Efficient Shower Heads
Water-efficient (low-flow) showerheads help you reduce your water consumption by restricting the amount of water that flows out of the showerhead. Despite the reduced volume of water, your water-efficient showerhead provides the same amount of water pressure as a regular showerhead.

The two types of water-saving showerheads are aerating and non-aerating showerheads. Aerating showerheads reduce water flow by mixing a stream of air with the water to provide adequate water pressure for a massaging shower.

Non-aerating showerheads have minute holes that restrict the volume of water. However, because the water is forced to go through small holes, these non-aerating showerheads also provide an ideal level of water pressure.

With water-saving showerheads, the EPA estimates that a family household could save up to 2700 gallons of water per year because, on average, traditional/regular showerheads release 2.5 gallons of water every minute. However, water-efficient showerheads limit the water flow to 2.0 gpm, which cuts down the amount of water used per shower by a fifth. This equates to a significant reduction in your monthly water bills.

2. High-Efficiency Toilets
High-efficiency toilets work like regular toilets, but their design enables them to use a fraction of the water used by standard toilets per flush. The two types of high-efficiency toilets are gravity flush toilets and pressure-assisted toilets.

A gravity flush toilet design limits the maximum volume of water per flush. Gravity flush toilets are available in two models: single-flush and dual-flush toilets.

Single-flush toilets use the same amount of water for every flush. However, you can decide how much water is flushed when using a dual-flush toilet. Typically, a dual-flush toilet has two flush buttons, depending on how much water you want to be flushed.

Pressure-assisted toilets are not yet standard among households, but you can find them on airplanes, in shopping malls, and in hotels. These toilets use compressed air in the water tank to provide additional pressure to the water flushing down the toilet. The high pressure minimizes the amount of water required to flush solid waste, thus significantly reducing the water volume used per flush.

Though pressure-assisted toilets are more expensive than gravity flush toilets, the amount of money they save on your monthly water bills makes them worth the investment in the end.

3. Low-Flow Faucets
The flow rate for most kitchen, bathroom, and laundry room faucets is 2.2 gallons per minute. However, most of the water from such faucets goes to waste. For instance, most people let the tap run freely for several minutes when rinsing dishes.

The high volume of water wasted on such activities significantly contributes to high water bills. Thus, consider installing low-flow faucets to help minimize your monthly water bill.

Low-flow faucets reduce water flow by incorporating an aerator into the faucet. The aerator adds air to the stream of water from the tap to provide the ideal pressure for washing. If you opt for a WaterSense-approved faucet, it can minimize the flow rate from 2.2 gpm to 1.5 gpm.

Saving 0.5 gallons per minute may not seem like much, but it can add up to thousands of gallons when you factor in how much water is wasted over a month or year while using traditional faucets. Additionally, if you reduce your water consumption by a few thousand gallons a year, the amount of money you save on monthly water bills will be significant.

At Power Plumbing Inc., we can help you install the plumbing fixtures you need to save money on your monthly water bills. Contact us today to learn more.