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Increase the Value of Your Home with Energy-saving Plumbing Service Upgrades | Myrtle Beach, SC
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Every homeowner wants their house to be worth its maximum value, even if they have no intention to sell. While some upgrades merely make your home more attractive, your plumbing service has several ways to increase the value of your property while saving you money on your monthly utility bills. In today’s world, these energy-efficient plumbing fixtures are essential in the fight to save the environment and natural resources. Here are some of the best ways your plumbing service can help you raise your home’s value while enjoying your monthly savings and helping the planet.
Energy Efficient Toilets
Your toilets are the biggest user of water in your home. If your home has traditional toilets, each one of them is wasting water every time you flush. These old classic toilet styles use up to an astounding seven gallons each time they are flushed. Now, consider how many times a day your toilets are flushed. If you have a large family and several toilets, you are spending a small fortune in water every month.
Your Myrtle Beach, SC plumbing service can help you replace these inefficient models with new, water-conserving toilets. When you convert to a high-efficiency toilet, you will only use around 1.5 gallons of water with each flush. That is a tremendous savings of water. There are even ultra-efficient models that require only about 1.28 gallons per flush, if you want to invest in maximum savings for your home.
Your plumbing service can convert your toilets to energy-efficient dual-flush models for extended savings. The way these toilets save water and money is they offer two options for each flush. There is a more powerful flow for solid waste and a less powerful option for liquid waste only. Since most flushes are to expel liquid waste products only, much less water will need to be used.
Low-flow Shower Heads and Faucets
One of the quickest and cheapest ways to get started on a greener path for your home is to install low-flow faucets and shower heads. They work exactly like the name implies, to lower your shower or faucet’s water flow rate while in use. By simply changing your shower head to a newer, low-flow model, you can save many gallons of water per minute with every shower.
Shower heads sold in the United States have a maximum water flow rate of 2.5 gallons per minute (gpm). That means that for every minute your shower lasts, your shower is putting out 2.5 gallons of water, most of which is hot. The newer low-flow shower heads come in a variety of sizes, flow rates, and pressures. Among the most common models are the 1.5 gpm, 1.0 gpm, and the ultra-low-flow 0.5 gpm.
Since the average shower lasts between seven and ten minutes, using a low-flow or ultra-low-flow shower head can conserve anywhere from one to two gallons of water each minute. When you add up the number of showers your family takes in a year, the savings of water truly adds up. You should notice a significant drop in your annual water usage, which in turn will show up as a decreased water and energy bill.
Your plumbing service can help you choose the right low-flow fixtures for your home. They can answer your questions and help you make the best decision.
Tankless Water Heaters
Traditional water heaters depend on a tank to hold the heated water until you need it. They can range in size from 30 gallons to an immense 80 gallons, so they can accommodate the needs of any size family. It takes a huge amount of energy to heat and keep that much water hot all the time.
Tankless water heaters offer a much more energy efficient option for homeowners. They require no tank because the water is superheated just when you need it. No more energy wasted on hot water that is not needed for hours. Instead, the water cycles an interior loop until it is hot when you turn on the faucet. The heating is instant and provides an immediate burst of hot water.
There are many benefits of having your plumbing service swap out your old model for a tankless water heater. One of the most noticeable for your family is the endless supply of hot water. Your household is no longer limited to a certain number of gallons at a time. Instead, even the last one to shower will be greeted with a burst of inviting warmth every time. Plus, you can easily use two or more plumbing fixtures at the same time with no problem.
Then there is the savings. It takes much less energy every month to provide the necessary hot water for your family, since the water is only heated on demand. This can add up to a significant savings on your annual energy bill.
Since the tankless water has no tank, there is no tank to store. Tankless units take up very little space, leaving you with more storage space. And who doesn’t need more room in their home?
It is true that tankless water heaters cost more in the beginning. But you need to figure in the increased lifespan of the tankless model, as compared to the traditional water heater. Tanks can rust and deteriorate, causing a huge mess if they burst open. When your plumbing service installs a tankless water heater, there is no storage component to wear out, and they last significantly longer. With a tank, your water heater is expected to last ten to fifteen years, barring damage to the unit. A tankless water heater generally has an expected lifetime of over twenty years. This can actually save you money on buying water heater replacements.
Upgrade Your Plumbing System
If you live in an older home, there is a big possibility that your plumbing system is composed of galvanized steel pipes. To make your home worth more, you should get your plumbing service started on replacing them with copper supply lines and PVC drain pipes. The galvanized steel can deteriorate and leave fragments of rust and metal in your water. When you switch over all your pipes to more modern copper and PVC, you will greatly improve your water quality and help you face fewer repair bills.
Contact us today at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of Myrtle Beach, SC to find out more about how your plumbing service can help you make your home more efficient and more valuable.