Consumers can reduce utility bills by saving water at home | Oklahoma State University

2021-12-06 16:06:38 By : Ms. Sunny Liu

Media Contact: Trisha Gedon | Communications Expert | 405-744-3625 | trisha.gedon@okstate.edu

The constant dripping of the faucet is not only annoying, but it can also cost the homeowner a high price for wasting water. Unnecessary water consumption can affect your financial situation, so it is important to conserve water at home.

Scott Fraser, an expert in promoting energy management at Oklahoma State University and an associate professor in the Department of Biological Systems and Agricultural Engineering at Oregon State University, said that aging infrastructure and drought conditions affecting municipal water supplies are reasons for more protection.

"The easiest way for a homeowner to save water is to turn off the tap," Fraser said. "The average faucet releases 2 gallons of water per minute. Just turn off the faucet when brushing your teeth, and you can save up to 8 gallons of water per day. On a per gallon basis, the homeowner’s water bill is quite cheap, but over time, the cost Will increase."

Besides turning off the faucet, what else can the homeowner do to save water? Fix leaking and dripping faucets. A small leak can waste hundreds of gallons of water a day, and a running toilet can easily waste 200 gallons of water a day. At the rate of one drop per second, a single tap can leak 3,000 gallons of water a year. If you cannot solve these problems yourself, please contact a plumber to deal with these wasted water problems.

Does it take a long time for warm water to enter the bathroom? With insulated pipes, there is less energy loss between the hot water tank and the faucet, which means that the homeowner will not waste water waiting to be heated. Frazier says that using pre-cut foam pipe insulation is simple and inexpensive.

“Using some of these water-saving strategies can reduce your household's water consumption by as much as 35% or more. On average, each household uses 130,000 gallons per year, so you can reduce your water footprint by 44,000 gallons per year,” Frazier said. "This is not only good for water supply, but also saves water and electricity bills."