Plumbing Going Green

Have you thought about making your plumbing green?

I’ve been trying to see my world through a new lens. I no longer think of my needs or even my family’s needs first, but of the Earth’s needs. It’s kind of radical. It feels unnatural. Hopefully it won’t feel that way forever. But I’ve found that my family can operate day to day and year to year just fine under my new priority. It’s not the most inexpensive way to live. It’s hard sometimes, but the longer I live this way, the more value I see in my life. That being said, I’ve taken my planet-priority piece by piece. This article is going to focus on one of those pieces: plumbing. There are actionable steps to be taken in making a greener home and lifestyle by changing the plumbing in your home.

Modern plumbing has gone green with many new energy efficient fixtures now on the market. Many people fail to realize that it takes energy to heat their water. Green plumbing conserves energy. One of the ways people save energy is by using energy efficient fixtures and making sure that your plumbing does not waste energy. By reducing your energy used, you produce less of a carbon foot print.

One way new homes conserve energy is by reducing the distance water has to travel. In the past many homes had the water heater in the garage and the water would travel some distance to various parts of the home. Smart green homes make sure the water heater is central in the home and the hot water does not travel far.

Solar waters heaters conserve energy. They use the sun to heat up the water and no energy is used at all to heat. Twenty-five percent of each energy dollar goes into heating water. Saving energy means saving the consumer money. Many people would love to save a quarter of their energy bill.

Modern fixtures will save you even more money. Modern fixtures keep the leaks away which cuts in energy cost and water. In addition new types of appliances save you money by requiring less energy to run. So replace the leaky fixtures and install new energy efficient appliances.

Tankless water heaters reduce your water heater usage and you use only the hot water produced. With a tankless water heater you are not constantly heating the stored water. Thus, you are paying only for the water used.

Hot water circulation pumps make your plumbing more energy efficient by giving you instant hot water. Every year thousands of dollars go down the drain as people turn on the water and wait for that warm water to come out of the tap. The circulation pump eliminates waiting for the water to come out warm.

Not many people can afford to make all these changes at once, so do them slowly over time. Even if you can’t fully commit to putting the planet first, you can help. Each change you make is a small step in the right direction for preserving our planet.

J. Salvage is a writer, blogger, and lady with a family that she wants to see inherit a beautiful Earth.