44 Ways #11: Reduce Your Water Use In and Around Your Home

Hello! This is Episode 411. This is Way #11 of the 44 Ways to Create Your Sustainable Home series. We’re continuing through Section Three: Sustainable Services and Infrastructure, and today we’re looking at water.

In the last episode, we covered Way #10: reducing your energy use through your selections. In this episode, we’re looking at water efficiency. Where does water really get used in your home? What do the ratings mean in practice? And what decisions, beyond just choosing efficient fixtures, can actually make a difference?

Way #11 is: Reduce Your Water Use In and Around Your Home.

[For all resources mentioned in this podcast and a free, downloadable PDF transcript, head to www.undercoverarchitect.com/411]

Water tends to receive less attention than energy in a sustainability brief. I think this is partly because the financial feedback is less immediate. Electricity bills arrive more regularly and can feel significant. Water bills are often quarterly, and in many areas they feel manageable, or are wrapped up with your council fees.

But around 12% of Australia’s water use is in residential homes. Water is a finite resource, and under pressure in many locations around the world, and the decisions you make about how your home uses it can carry through for the life of the home.

Interestingly, water efficiency can be one of the most straightforward areas to address, purely through specification. The ratings systems that exist for water-efficient fixtures are clear and accessible. The products are widely available. And in most cases, the cost difference between a high-efficiency and a standard fixture at specification stage is minimal, while the savings over time are significant.

In this episode, I take you through where household water actually goes, what the rating systems mean in practice, the design decisions beyond fixture selection that can reduce water use, and why outdoor water use deserves its own conversation, which we’ll cover in the next episode.

As always, if you'd like to access a full transcript of this episode and links to any resources I mention, head to www.undercoverarchitect.com/411.

Now, let's dive in!

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST:

For links, images and resources mentioned in this podcast, head to >>> www.undercoverarchitect.com/411