The yard was the easy fix. A little bit of time and some sweat put the lawn and garden into water conservation mode. Let's head indoors to see what we can do around the house. The first place to look is in the garage or closet where the water heater lives. Most folks utilize a tank type hot water source. If your heater is in there, naked, it is costing you money trying to stay warm and wasting water every time someone turns on the hot water in the house. Most people turn on the hot water to get, you guessed it, hot water! If it takes a few minutes for the hot water to get tap side, all that "warm up water" goes down the drain. What to do?
A little modern technology can go a long way to help out with the hot water at the faucet. One way to help the issue is to dress the water heater in a blanket of insulation. This will help keep the water tank hot and the water inside toasty. This way, the water headed down the line will be warmer faster and get to the sink ready to use.
Another idea is to employ some sort of pump that keeps the hot water circulating through the system continuously. A system of this type provides hot water when the tap is turned on and ready to go for its called-upon task.
A third idea is to switch to a tank-less type on demand water heating system. These types of systems have been all the rage in Europe for years. With this type of system, the water is brought to the application in a single pipe, then heated at the end point by an electric heater. Yes, I know a retrofit of a system with the tank-less program can be expensive, but it always pays to "put the pencil to it" and see how long the payoff in energy and water savings really is. If you plan on keeping the house for a while, it might be worth it.
Yet a fourth option is solar. The sun puts out quite a bit of wasted or un-utilized energy. A solar water heating system can be added as a booster to an existing system or can become the primary source of water heating for a house, in combination with an insulated tank. Again, this is a system with up front costs that need to be figured to see if the end result is worth the investment. A Google search of this topic brings up several web sites for saving both water and energy at the hot water tank.
Next, let's talk toilets. I know, everyone hates the new water efficient toilets. The lower-end ones often require multiple flushes to get the job done, so it seems like you're using even more water. An upgrade brings a system with a "turbo" type flush mechanism that actually creates a vacuum to help the toilet work. These types of toilets actually live up to the name of water efficient.
Older systems can be helped out with newer toilet mechanisms and other water saving type ideas such a brick in the tank. More toilet talk can be found at www.monolake.org/waterconservation
What about all that water that goes down the drain? Ever thought about "gray" water? Just what is gray water? Well, gray water is all that water not going down the toilet. In some parts of the country, homes are actually designed to divert the waste water from the clothes and dish washers, the bathtub, and the shower to an external cistern. There, the soaps and dirt settle to the bottom and the water is reused to water the landscape. While this type of system is not complicated, it would be very difficult to retrofit into a home. Most cities in our area don't care for systems of this nature and write building codes to keep them from being used. It is unfortunate, though, because this type of system also takes a load off the treatment plants and can be a huge money saver in the long run for rate payers. Check out www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/natres/06702.html for a great source of gray water information.
How about collecting the rain from your roof? Several commercial storage systems are available for residential use. A good rain barrel collection system can provide rain water for a water conservation minded garden through the majority of the summer. One of many sources for rain barrel systems is www.composters.com/rain-barrels.php.
Hopefully, our series on water conservation will get you thinking about how a few changes around the house will provide you with a more water conservation minded, Texas Friendly landscape. The ideas included for conservation around the home are designed to save some money, as well as help out with water and energy usage. The point here is, plan a little, save a lot, both in resources and cash!!!