Lo-Flow Post

I started reading the METAEFFICIENT blog over the last few days and although it suffers from a lack of editing, it has a lot of great and usually practical information for people interested in efficient design and bringing some of it into their home.

The two things that most interested me were a post on low-flow shower heads (here), and low-flow toilets.

While I think the low-flow showerhead post is good, I would like to add a little about what I found out about toilets...

For one, the US EPA reports that toilets account for about 30% of residential indoor water use. They suggest that by installing a WaterSense high-efficiency toilet (HET), you can save 4,000 gallons and $90 per year (for a family of four). This means that even more expensive HETs (e.g., costing around $300-400) will pay for themselves in only 3-4 years of use. If you buy the cheapest HET model currently listed on Home Depot's website (cost: $99.00), it will pay for itself after the first year!

For two, I didn't know that 1992 saw a dramatic drop in the amount of gallons-per-flush (gpf) required for American toilets. Standard toilet models in the US prior to this time used 13 litres (L) or about 3.5 gallons (gal), and older toilet models may actually use 5.0 gpf. After 1992, toilets were required to use no more than 6 L or 1.6 gal. Beyond this, the US EPA's WaterSense programme requires that toilets getting their seal of approval as HETs use no more than 1.28 gpf (20% less than the 1992 standard) while still removing at least 350 grams (g) of waste (full details). They have provided a list of toilets fitting these specifications here. The problem with their list is that it doesn't list the actual gpf used by each toilet, however the Santa Clara Valley Water District's list does! I guess if you live there you can get assistance in buying up to three HETs for your home.

One problem people have had with older model low-flow toilets is their tendency to have problems actually flushing things. Terry Love's Consumer toilet reports aims to save people hassles by testing toilets and telling consumers which ones actually work. If you want to skip ahead, you can go straight to his favorite manufacturer's webpages: TOTO and Caroma. From Love's message boards, it seems like you can't go wrong with the TOTO Aquia. That said, he doesn't cover HETs. For a good list of HETs, head over to the California Urban Water Conservation Council's (CUWCC) list which was revised as recently as August 21, 2007. CUWCC's Product News pages have information for just about every water-using appliance/fixture/thing you can think of (including much more about HETs) and is well worth a look.