Our friends over at
Here are five ways to save water and energy from Practically Green:
- Upgrade your washing machine to an Energy Star model: "Energy Star-qualified washing machines use about thirty percent less energy and over fifty percent less water than regular washers."
- Install low-flow shower heads in all showers: "The average American family of four uses ~400 gallons of water a day, and showers account for 17% of that usage. Installing low-flow shower heads could save your household up to 18,600 gallons of water a year."
- Run dishwasher only when it's full:"By waiting until you have a full load, you can conserve water and put a significant dent in your monthly water usage, which will translate to more dollars in your pocket. It can also reduce your electric bill; heating dish water to hot is costly."
- Reuse your towels when staying at a hotel: "...the Alliance for Water Efficiency estimates a hotel with 250 rooms at 80 percent occupancy could save up to $66,000 and 220,000 gallons of water per year with a towel/linen reuse program."
- Join meat free mondays and eat vegetarian once a week:"Selecting one day a week (it doesn't have to be Monday) when you eliminate meat from your diet altogether helps reduce your carbon footprint and save resources like fresh water and fossil fuel. The more people having meatless Mondays, the greater the eco-impact."
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Energy star, sadly, is just more Greenwashing. A government report has exposed them, finally. Link found in the first paragraph:
http://generationgreen.org/2010/05/energy-star-ratings-for-more-efficient-greenwashing/
I also don't see how energy star can be more efficient when our new ES washer and dishwasher take twice as long on the lowest cycles as our older, cheaper models that croaked only after 15 years of good use.
Low flow adapters also work great for sinks. Easy & cheap to install. No need to run full pressure in bathroom sinks.
We had our plumber install a water pressure reducer to our main line & reduced our consumption by 30%, saving us a couple hundred $ per year. So in 1 year, the cost of the plumber & part will have paid for themselves.
And our low flow toilets are awesome. We got a Toto that only uses 1.26 L/ flush & have never had any clogging issues.
try living WITHOUT water for a week... or just a day even... that's what happened to us! unwillingly! apparently our building had a leak in a lead pipe that went from the main to the building and Jersey City has an ordinance saying it must be replaced if there's a leak in a lead pipe. so, here we are... 4 days later and still no signs of getting water back! (sigh)
http://twopeasteenypod.blogspot.com/
I love tallsarah's idea to get a main-line pressure reducer!
@Emmi
Just a few months after the GAO report came out, EPA mandated third-party performance certification for all ENERGY STAR products.
http://blog.mwalliance.org/2011/02/energy-star-products-now-third-party-certified
@Emmi
It is the total amount of energy used that matters. That is, the product of the rate of consumption by the completion time. A 1000 HP drag racer completes a 1/4 mile a whole lot faster than a Prius, but it consumes way more fuel than the Prius. Likewise a new dishwasher could take longer but use less energy if it consumes energy at a slower rate.