Easy and Free Ways To Save
on Your Energy Bill This Winter
Natural gas prices are expected to rise November 2008 by as much as 14 per cent. Next to space heating, water heating is the second biggest user of natural gas and many homes have natural gas water heaters. There are very easy and FREE ways to save on hot water offered by the Portland Water Bureau which could help offset the increase in natural gas prices.
Here's what you need to know:
Most showerheads use 2.5 gallons per minute (gpm). There are perfectly good showerheads that use significantly less including the free one offered by the Portland Water Bureau that uses 1.5 gpm (see below). This will save you from heating 1 gallon of water per minute of shower time, each and every day. If the 1.5 gpm doesn't suit you, check out Ecohaus' low cost 1.9 gpm showerhead that costs $13.00 and comes with a flow regulator (see below).
[Note: We have been using Ecohaus' SaverShower Ultra showerhead for over a month and love it. The built in flow regulator really helps you fine tune the amount of flow you want. We find we are quite content with much less than the 1.9 gpm.]
Other easy places to save water are the kitchen and bathroom faucets. Again many faucets use 2.5 gpm. The Portland Water Bureau has a 1.5 gpm kitchen faucet and a 1.0 gpm bathroom faucet for free. Or you can go all out and get the .5 gpm bathroom faucet at Ecohaus for $3.50.
Note: A slower faucet may mean it takes a bit longer to get hot water to that sink, but you will still likely save more hot water in the long run and you always have the option of catching the cooler water for other uses, like watering plants.
Hardware and home improvement stores also sell low flow showerheads and faucets.
PORTLAND WATER BUREAU
Water Conservation Program
1120 SW 5th Avenue, Room 600
Portland, OR 97204
(503) 823-4527
conserve@water.ci.portland.or.us
From their List of Water Conservation Tools and Tips:
Showerhead
The current plumbing code for showerheads is a flow rate of 2.5 gallons per minute (gpm), but older showerheads may use 5 gpm or more. Today, a wide variety of low-flow showerheads are available that save water and energy, while still delivering good pressure. This particular model uses 1.5 gpm.
Kitchen Faucet Aerator
This aerator is for your kitchen or utility sink, and flows at 1.5 gallons per minute (gpm).
Bathroom Faucet Aerator
The aerator in this kit attaches to a bathroom sink faucet and uses only 1.0 gallon per minute (gpm).
Other Free Water Conservation Devices (see above list link)
Leak Detection Tablets
Toilet Fill Cycle Diverter
Toilet Displacement Bag
1.0 Bathroom faucet aerator
5-minute Shower Timer
Watering Gauge
Guidebook: Water-Efficient Plants for the Willamette Valley
ECOHAUS
819 SE Taylor Street
503-222-3881
Ecohaus offers a 1.9 gpm showerhead with a flow control button for $13 which is particularly good for low pressure situations. They also have a .5 gpm bathroom faucet for $3.50. See their entire list here.
