Do Low-Flow Fixtures Really Make a Difference?

If you are considering making some updates to the plumbing in your bathroom or kitchen, the low-flow fixtures are probably on your list of installations to consider. (And if they aren’t … put them on the list now.)

Low-flow fixtures work pretty much exactly like their name: they slow down the amount of water flowing from a tap. In the case of toilets, low-flow models restrict how much water is used per flush. This helps to save water. But how much of a difference do these fixtures make? Enough for them to be worthwhile upgrades for a bathroom or kitchen?

In a Word: Yes!

We’d put a hundred exclamation marks after yes if we thought it would help drive the point home. But we have basic facts to make the point—and they’re persuasive.

Low-flow fixtures make a large difference—especially in an older home with aging fixtures that allow far too much water than necessary.

Let’s start with the low-flow fixture that can make the biggest change in water consumption, the low-flow toilet. If the toilets in your home are more than 20 years old, they can use up to 5–6 gallons per flush. Even a new toilet that isn’t low-flow uses around 3 gallons. A low-flow toilet uses as little as 1.5 gallons per flush. The toilets in a house account for 40% of indoor water use, so when you cut down on gallons per flush from 6 to 1.5, that’s—well, that’s huge savings annually, as well as much nicer monthly bills.

When it comes to faucets, WaterSense-approved faucets (a water conservation program from the US EPA) can save a home 700 gallons of water per year. That’s the equivalent of 40 showers.

There’s another way you’ll save money when you have low-flow faucets and showerhead put in: reduced water heater use. Your hot water consumption will go down when there’s less water going to the showers and sink faucets. According to WaterSense, you’ll save the energy equivalent of what it takes to power an electric hairdryer for ten minutes a day, every day, for a year.

Finally, low-flow faucets are a benefit to the environment. If every current normal-flow faucet in the US was replaced with WaterSense approved low-flow models, the country would save nearly $1.2 billion in water and energy costs and 64 billion gallons of water. This would eliminate a tremendous amount of waste and help make the world more sustainable. It’s a simple step to have a plumber in Acton, MA make the upgrades to your fixtures, but the local and global benefits are enormous!

Let the Professional Plumbers Help You Save

We encourage you to let a licensed plumber handle low-flow fixture installation. They can help find the right new fixtures to work for you that won’t create water pressure issues. And you never want anybody except a pro to replace a old toilet—that job is simply too enormous. Our plumber are not only experiences handling bathroom and kitchen installations, they also do renovations. You can trust that they’ll set you up with the right new fixtures.

Basnett Plumbing, Heating & AC has been trusted for over 30 years! Arrange for bathroom and kitchen plumbing services today.