Touchless Faucets for the Home?
Seemingly relegated to airport and stadium bathrooms, touchless faucets are starting to make their way into homes, with plumbing manufacturers moving to offer more design options. It’s an idea that may seem strange at first, but touchless faucets are actually quite practical, especially for a children’s bathroom. They are clearly beneficial in that they limit the spread of bacteria, but they also save water. Consider how much water is wasted while brushing teeth. A touchless faucet ensures that water isn’t running the entire time someone is brushing. Combined with a water-saving aerator, touchless faucets can save a substantial amount of water. And, since the water is set at a specific temperature, having a touchless faucet removes the risk of a child scalding him or herself accidentally.
Touchless faucets are also available for kitchens, though consumers will need to do some research to make sure they are getting something that fits their habits. Kitchen touchless faucets clearly carry the same health and water conservation benefits but most are set at one temperature, which might be inconvenient. Also, if the faucet does not have an override switch, the homeowner will have to hold his or her hand over the sensor while filling a pot or doing dishes, though perhaps running water while doing dishes is a habit we should reconsider. Read the rest of this entry »



Author’s note: The following article on home heating is the second in an eight-part series.
Author’s note: the following article on home heating is the first in an eight-part series. The series specifically targets climate found in the San Francisco Bay Area, but has applicability elsewhere.
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At the heart of all building projects are the materials, the stuff, the bricks and sticks, the elements that are assembled to build a building. Different materials have different impacts on the Earth. Some require extensive resources for their manufacture. Steel and other metals need to be refined from ore and processed into their final forms, often several operations, all taking great amounts of energy. The choices that go into selecting building materials have long range ramifications in a number of ways.
In the United States, 340 billion gallons of fresh water — or 1/4 of the nation’s total supply — are pulled from rivers and reservoirs every day. (
