Each day, a family of four uses an estimated 400 gallons of water taking showers, washing dishes, doing laundry and flushing the toilet. In fact, toilet flushing can contribute to as much as 27 percent of your daily water usage, with each flush sending four or five gallons of water right into the sewer…
…unless you have a modern, water-efficient toilet that uses just a little over a gallon of water per flush. That’s a big difference when you start adding up the gallons over a year’s time.
Facts About Indoor Water Usage
While it’s always a good idea to conserve what we can of our water supply, it saves money, too. In most cases, it’s smart to build water efficiency right into your custom home. Here’s why:
- A standard showerhead uses 2.5 gallons of water each minute, but an energy-efficient one uses 20 percent less.
- Traditional washing machines may use 50+ gallons of water per load. Water and energy-conserving models use less than 25 gallons per load.
Tankless Water Heaters: A Smart Move
They cost more initially, but tankless water heaters require less room than traditional water heaters do. Further, you never need to worry about using all the hot water in your tank – even when you have a house full of company.
- Standard tank water heaters need recovery time after you’ve filled a 100-gallon hot tub, run the washing machine, and used the jetted shower in the master bath; on-demand, tankless water heaters don’t.
- Putting a space-saving tankless water heater in each zone means the hot water comes out of the faucet sooner than if it had to travel a longer pipe distance from one central source.
- Because tankless versions only heat your water when you need it, rather than keeping gallons of water hot all the time, you save on energy costs.
Appliances with the WaterSense Label
WaterSense products meet EPA specifications for water efficiency. When you use WaterSense toilets, faucets, dishwashers, outdoor irrigation water systems and washing machines, you can expect significant savings on your water bills.
Will Your Custom Home Be Water-Efficient?
When you’re building a custom home in Nashville and beyond, we’ll be here to make your dreams a reality. Let us know how we can make your house exactly what you want it to be – call us at 615-824-6970 or send us a note.
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