Published on May 8th, 2008
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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 »
Published on May 1st, 2008
As I mentioned in my KBIS Report, I was struck by the sizes of bathtubs on display at this year’s kitchen and bath trade show. Though green was king thoughout most of the convention, companies that pitch themselves as catering to a luxury market seem to be sending the message that if you have enough money to waste water in giant bathtubs, then they’d be happy to sell you some, as if money absolves you of any kind of environmental responsibility.
It’s a hard statistic to nail down, but a person uses between fifty and seventy gallons of water each time he or she takes a bath. This number includes water wasted waiting for the desired temperature as well as hot water used to return the cooling water to the desired temperature. Compare that number to a five minute shower, which uses around twenty five gallons of water, possibly half that if the shower uses a flow restrictor. Clearly, if water conservation is the main goal, a quick shower is the answer, but let’s not throw out the bathtub with the bathwater just yet. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on April 30th, 2008
Editor’s note: As part of our new content partnership with Low Impact Living, we’ll be bringing you tips and tricks from their massive and growing archive of products and projects that can help you save energy, water and money around the house. Today, LIL blogger Jason Pelletier takes a look at tankless hot water heaters. This post was originally published on Monday, April 28, 2008.
Tankless hot water heaters are becoming a must-have appliance in homes these days. They purport to offer many benefits - instant and endless hot water, less wasted space, and a smaller carbon footprint as well. They can even be used to power radiant underfloor heating that is a luxury found in many green homes.
But are they truly the best option? What can you expect from one, and what do you have to worry about with installation? Finally, are there other options available that offer the same benefits without some of the challenges? We’ll try to cover most of that in this piece.
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Published on April 22nd, 2008
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. (See greenerbuildings.com)
Our taps, plumbing fixtures, and irrigation systems all draw from the same sources of clean, potable water. After being used, most of the water ends up in the sewer system — all of it, at that point, contaminated. Then it is treated and returned to a body of water. This creates a cycle in which unnecessarily large volumes of water circulate through the built environment and municipal treatment facilities. However, in the last decade or so, major strides have been made in reducing the amount of water that must go through such a cycle. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on April 13th, 2008
As I walked around last year’s Kitchen and Bath Industry Show in Las Vegas, I asked where I could find the green products. I was encouraged to put on my walking shoes and make the trek to a minor hall where I found about twenty square feet devoted to five or six products that left little impression on me. Much has changed, it seems, in only one year. Green is the buzzword at this year’s show, helped in no small part by the host city, Chicago, showing off its green-ness through LEED building projects going up within sight of the convention center. Just about every booth displayed information on how green their products were. “Green building has become the spark that has added some life to this industry,” a representative from MasterBrand Cabinets told me.
Water saving innovators Kohler and TOTO made green the focus of their booths, proudly displaying the Watersense stickers on their high efficiency toilets. TOTO, who recycles 100% of their china, has developed a universal toilet bowl whose tank can be interchanged from a 1.6 gallon per flush to a 1.28 gpf e-tank. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on March 28th, 2008
San Francisco’s Union Square may be noted for its abundance of shopping, hotels, tourist joints, and even outside movies; but, a Green Home? Don’t call your Green Real Estate agent quite yet. The temporary green home occupied the prime real estate last week as part of the Better Homes and Gardens & Green Works Living Green exhibit.
The green traveling exhibit offered surprisingly educational and eye-catching examples of various water savings devices, energy star appliances, sustainable countertops, flooring, and furniture. Even though I didn’t stick around to hear the speakers (some of whom I know) the lineup offered an impressive array of green builders, designers and other knowledgeable types in the green industry.
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