Desert Botanical Garden: THE DESERT HOUSE: Saving Water at Home

Most people would agree that is is generally better to do more with less. This thought carries through to water conservation in the home.

Water is not the only resource saved while lessening its use in the home. It takes energy to transport water through pipes and energy to heat water for washing. So when a family reduces their use of water, especially hot water, they are also saving energy and money.

Both of the showers in the Desert House are equipped with low flow shower heads. These heads provide a flow rate of 2.5 gallons per minute, less than half of the 6 gallons per minute allowed by standard shower heads. The average American uses about 20,000 gallons of water per year showering. Simply changing to a low flow shower head can yield an annual savings of 10,000 gallons of water per person. These low flow shower heads are designed to pressurize the water and produce an sensation similar to standard models. The shower heads also provide a slide valve to allow bathers to shift the flow to suit their needs while lathering, shampooing or rinsing.

Desert House faucets are equipped with 1.5-gallon flow restricting aerators that pressurize water flow. This increased pressure causes the water to exit the faucet with greater velocity and energy. Higher energy flows clean better, with less water consumed.

Toilets in the Desert House are designed to save water. Unlike standard toilets that use from 4 to 7 gallons of water per flush, Desert House toilets need only 1.5 gallons to achieve the same result. A typical family of four could reduce flushing water requirements from 20,440 gallons of water per year to 4,380 gallons through this technology. The families who have lived in the Desert House use less than half the water of a typical similar Phoenix household.