The process of moving into your new home can be exciting. However, it can be an overwhelming experience. You need to plan a whole household system that should last for your entire stay (which will often be a lifetime unless you move often). Given this goal, the plumbing of your house plays a critical role.
Good plumbing ensures that water comes in and out of the house properly. Faulty pipes or leakages can cause moisture, resulting in mold and fungus growth. These molds and fungi are a source of sickness that can affect you and your neighbors, as plumbing systems are often shared.
Plumbing isn’t just associated with water-related services. It also ties into installing and maintaining heating systems, boilers, furnaces, and even lighting. With efficient plumbing, your household’s inner workings are guaranteed to function properly and ensure your house is livable.
Today’s breakthrough plumbing innovations can now enhance the experience. Let’s find out what these are and how they can help new homeowners save some money and the environment.
Solar Water Heaters
Suppose you want to reduce your carbon footprint and lower your electricity bills. Solar water heaters are a great option. With prices ranging from $1,000 – $5,000, they can convert sunlight into heat for water heating purposes using a solar thermal collector.
Take this into consideration: the average American household uses 88 gallons of hot water per day for washing dishes, washing clothes, and taking showers or baths. All these activities consume about 235 to 250 therms of natural gas per year. If you consider purchasing a solar water heater, it will replace and/or eliminate 116 therms of natural gas use on average per year.
The savings on gas then amounts to $235 to $250 and about 1.12 tons of greenhouse gas emissions per household per year. It is also good to note that if a solar water heater is properly taken care of, it can last for up to 25 years. Despite the initial costs, solar water heaters are a worthwhile investment that pays for their troubles in the long run.
Home Water Recycling Systems
Home water recycling systems are also a good investment. They do exactly what you think they do: recycle water! Water is one of our most essential resources, and we can always benefit from finding ways to maximize its usage.
That’s where home water recycling systems come in. Prices range from $1,000 to $20,000, depending on the size of your home. These systems treat wastewater using an oil and water separation, a filtration system, a detergent removal unit, and a sanitation unit. It treats gray water, the used water coming from sinks, showers, and washing machines.
Ultimately this innovation reduces your water usage by 50%, saving at least $500 since the average American family spends more than $1000 on water costs in a year. This system is a bit pricey; however, it can last for 15 to 25 years if handled properly.
Trenchless Pipeline Installation
Trenchless pipeline installations dismiss the need for trenches, the long and narrow ditches in which pipelines are placed that can often disrupt the surface’s activity.
It has been up for eight decades now, formerly being known as “slip lining.” The process was introduced during the 1970s as a pipe rehabilitation technique that was first developed in Europe. This method of pipe laying is now popularly used in the United States.
The main benefits of this are that it saves money and the environment plus saves time and makes things less of a hassle. Without the need for trenches, less digging is involved, reducing a day’s work to a few hours. It also eliminates any additional costs for manual labor, with the average prices of the typical pipeline installations costing over $15,000 for an average household. Juxtapose this to trenchless pipelines costing only $6,000 to $12,000 depending on size. Aside from the money you save, the system also does less damage to soil and plants. You will not need landscaping or lawn replacement.
Trenchless pipelines have a lifespan of over 50 years. This number can increase depending on your state and climate, making it one of the most long-lasting and best technological advancements in the plumbing industry.
Touch-Free Fixtures
Touch-free fixtures most commonly come in the form of “hands-free” bathroom technology. These use infrared sensors that detect body heat to replace the need for contact. The technology was first utilized to develop the automatic faucet in the 1950s, which was then mass-produced by the 1980s. Then came the automatic toilet in 1988, which was also mass-produced by the 1990s. The prices of automatic faucets only range from $150 to $200, while automatic toilets cost anywhere between $400 and $1000 depending on the brand.
They aid in health and hygiene as they limit the transfer and spread of bacteria. Water is also conserved since it will only run when you are directly under the faucet or walk away from the toilet, making them specially designed to prevent unwanted waste.
Pump up the way you plumb
With the new-found knowledge of different breakthrough plumbing innovations you can incorporate into your new home, you are now ready to make smarter decisions that will redefine your whole living experience.
