How to Increase Efficiency and Reduce Water Waste at Home

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Water is one of our most precious and comprehensive resources. It’s something we use every day for cleaning, cooking, drinking, and power. By making changes to your home and water use practices, you can reduce your utility bill and ensure we maintain our reliable water supplies.

Why is Home Water Efficiency Important?

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), each American uses an average of 82 gallons of water a day at home. By letting your faucet run for five minutes, you use about as much energy as letting a 60-watt light bulb run for fourteen hours.

In Your Home

Some people may believe that water efficiency may require drastic changes to your everyday habits. However, small steps like fixing leaks or improving your habits can have significant benefits, all without sacrificing your everyday conveniences.

Appliances and Fixtures

Small household leaks can waste over 10,000 gallons of water per year, as indicated by the EPA. WaterSense labeled fixtures and Energy Star qualified appliances help save water and energy. Like Energy Star, WaterSense was launched in 2009 with aims of improving water efficiency in newly built homes. To acquire a WaterSense label, appliances and fixtures must meet the EPA’s specifications for water efficiency and performance with independent third-party certifications.

When it’s time to sell your home, these new fixtures may give you a major advantage over other homes on the market. The National Association of Home Builders reports that water efficient fixtures are among the 20 top green features desired by homebuyers.

Mindful Practices

By adapting better water use habits, you can significantly reduce your water usage. Taking shorter showers, turning off the tap when brushing your teeth, doing only full loads of dishes or laundry, are all small actions that have a large impact.

In Your Yard and Garden

About 30% of water usage is devoted to the outdoors, per EPA data. In the hot summer months or dry climates, a household’s outdoor water usage can be as high as 70%.

Water-Smart Landscapes

Instead of watering your garden or lawn based on a regular schedule, experts advise watering based on a plant’s needs and stress levels instead. Grass that is well watered should be able to bounce back when stepped on. If it doesn’t, it may require watering.

In addition to adjusting your lawn watering schedule, planting native and drought-resistant plants can reduce watering needs. Native plants are used to your region’s climate and natural rainfall cycles.

Adding mulch to your garden can also make a difference, helping to suppress weeds and reduce evaporation by up to 70%. Mulching also helps plants maintain their soil nutrients.

Sprinkler Systems

Much like how we may incorporate smart technology into our home for energy efficiency and convenience, smart sprinklers make watering more effective. In addition to the ease of turning your sprinklers off and on remotely, some smart sprinklers may collection information about your lawn and garden through moisture sensors. Through this monitoring system, the sprinkler system is only activated when the moisture of the soil or temperature reach a range determined by the user.

Efficiency Your Way

Water and energy efficiency can be overwhelming if you’re attempting to handle it all on your own, much like the mortgage process. Working with professionals and utilizing resources from professionals can help you be confident in your decisions. An energy-efficient mortgage can allow homeowners to finance their energy efficient improvements by including them in the financing of their mortgage. Ready for a guide for home financing success? Contact us!