New WaterSense labeling makes it easy to shop for water-wise fixtures
The folks who brought EnergyStar labeling to the world of electrical
appliances have now made it just as easy to shop for water-wise
fixtures. This year marks the debut of the WaterSense label, the result
of an EPA effort to designate products and services made for water
conservation.
In the same manner as that now-famous
EnergyStar logo, the WaterSense label tells you a product will conserve
more water and perform more efficiently than one without it. To earn
the WaterSense mark, products are tested to meet stringent guidelines
determined by the EPA with involvement from water utilities,
manufacturers, and test labs, leading to solutions that are beneficial
to everyone, including Mother Earth.
So where can you
find these water-saving wonders? Watch your favorite home center or
fixtures dealer for high-efficiency toilets (HETs), the first
WaterSense-labeled products to hit the market this year. A great
improvement over the previous dual-flush and low-volume models, HETs
cut down on the current standard maximum of 1.6 gallons per flush (gpf)
by 20 percent to 1.28 gpf. In case this doesn’t strike you as a
dramatic savings, consider that pre-1994 model you’ve got somewhere in
your house, flushing away 3.5 gallons of water at a time. With a family
of four in residence, that toilet is using around 26,000 gallons of
water every year, and replacing it with one of the new WaterSense HETs
could reduce water usage by 60 percent and save you at least $55
annually in water bills -- enough for the HET to pay for itself within
a few years!
In other WaterSense-qualifying features,
HETs must be able to flush away a minimum of 350 grams of soybean paste
(you get the idea) and include a flush valve flapper or seal on the
flush with the test-proven chemical resistance to ensure that exposure
to chlorine and hard water won’t lead to leaks over time. The overall
design presents flush volume from being adjusted by the consumer either
on purpose or inadvertently (through replacement of tank components),
and though the hydraulics differ from traditional toilets, they allow
for a very similar installation process. Independent tests have also
determined that HETs don’t cause dreaded drain-line-clogging issues.
More
WaterSense products are on the way, with bathroom faucets and
irrigation system components currently in testing, so we can all look
forward to an abundance of ways to conserve dollars and natural
resources. For more WaterSense information, product news and a peek at
the soon-to-be-familiar logo, click over to the WaterSense site.
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