Saving Money with a Water Pressure Regulator
|
A common question is how much money can the water pressure regulator save you?
It all depends on your current water pressure and cost per gallon of water from your utility company. Look at your water bill and see how many gallons of water you are using per month. If you test your water pressure with a water pressure gauge, you can figure an estimate. A water pressure gauge is cheap to buy and you just hook it on your outdoor faucet where you hook your garden hose to.
Lowering pressure from 100 lbs to 50 lbs saves 33% of your water used. Lowering pressure from 100 lbs to 65 lbs saves about 20%. If your family uses 7,500 gallons per month, you could see a savings of 2,500 gallons per month from lowering the pressure to 50lbs from 100 lbs.
Another area of savings is your water heating bill. Since you are using less hot water in the shower and sinks, your water heater has to heat less water. Typically, 1/3 of the water used is hot water so if you save 2,500 gallons of water per month, you would also be saving heating costs on 833 gallons of water.
Even though a water pressure regular can save you money on your water bill, it is also important to think about replacing inefficient fixtures such as shower heads, toilets, and faucets. A toilet uses the water stored in its tank so the water pressure regular won't affect how much water it uses. A toilet uses about 27% of a home's water consumption so replacing it with a low flow toilet will pay for itself it no time.
The regulator will help save money in the shower and sink faucets. When you install a low flow shower head, it will reduce the water flow based on the current water pressure. At high water pressure, a low flow shower head can still use a lot of water. With both the pressure regulator and low flow shower head, you will have optimal water savings.
|
