"Water efficiency"

Water efficiency / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

Off-grid and Net-Zero Housing

A Toronto Off-grid home 20 years later; how did it fare? How could it be optimized?

...water The most crucial prerequisite to designing a successful autonomous home water system is to reduce consumption. For example, this house includes a toilet that consumes only 6 liters per flush, which wasn’t mandatory until 2014. Water reuse is critical as well - wastewater from washing machines, showers, bathtubs a...

Bathrooms

Are low-flow shower heads worth the money?

...water heat recovery What is drain water heat recovery? Before entering your water heater, the cold water feed goes through thin copper pipes wrapped around the drain. Heat from the draining water therefore warms the incoming water before it enters the water heater. This is another big money and energy saver worth the...

Concept and design

Prefab Passive House & LEED ready kit homes - the future of buying a new home?

...efficiency plumbing and water fixtures Clean water is essential for life, but most people in North America don't think much about the water they use for drinking, food preparation, and sanitation. Freshwater scarcity manifests itself in the depletion of groundwater, and the drying up of rivers and lakes upon which peop...

Greywater Heat Recovery

A new design in greywater heat recovery

...water heat recovery that looks quite promising. If you aren't familiar with the term, greywater heat recovery devices, as their name suggests, are used to recover heat from drain water before it is discharged from homes. In order to work they require water tanks to be filling while hot water is draining, so the functi...

Plumbing and water heaters

Gray water recycling

...water? Or indeed grey water! The term 'gray water recycling' refers to all domestic waste water that is drained from sinks, showers, bathtubs and washing machines. While gray water can be reused, water from kitchen sinks or dishwashers is generally not recycled as it contains substantial amounts of grease and organic m...

Wall assemblies - renovation

Green home improvements: an energy-saving pyramid scheme that actually works!

...water heat recovery: One of the most overlooked ways energy leaves a home is from hot water going down the drain, taking your money with it. The concept of grey water heat recovery is to reclaim that heat before it leaves your house. It simply involves your cold water feed taking a short detour before entering your wa...

Plumbing and water heaters

Are tankless water heaters good?

...water; factory-installed heat traps that allow water to flow into the tank but present unwanted flow of hot water out of the tank. Some advantages of tankless water heaters: Since tankless water heaters do not include a tank, they heat water only when a faucet is opened. In their most rudimentary form, tankless water ...

Bathrooms

Efficient toilets for LEED homes

...water efficient toilets, learn more about home water and energy efficiency solutions in the following pages and in the Ecohome Green Building Guide. DIY video of aftermarket bidet installation to toilet Do low flow showerhead work well? Best energy saving tips for green homes - 10 tips How to reduce hot water u...