Water Efficiency

Photo: Ospr3yy. License: CC BY-SA 3.0

Water efficiency in buildings requires a set of strategies for reducing water consumption.

Water-saving appliances and fixtures are an inexpensive (often cost-neutral) way to achieve greater efficiency. Rainwater or graywater reuse and even blackwater treatment are ways to push the envelope.

Water Efficiency

Deep Dives

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  • Cost-Effective Green Retrofits: Opportunities for Savings in Existing Buildings

    Feature Article

    Between lighting, water use, mechanical systems, the building envelope, and occupant health, existing buildings are rife with cost-effective retrofits and operational opportunities that also offer environmental benefits. Improvements range from the painfully obvious to the more complex and involved.

  • Water Policies: Encouraging Conservation

    Feature Article

    Conserving water goes beyond building design and technology. Water use is governed by federal, state, and local policies, from maximum flow requirements to pricing structures that encourage or discourage conservation.

  • Alternative Water Sources: Supply-Side Solutions for Green Buildings

    Feature Article

    Water efficiency should be a top priority for our buildings. At the same time, finding alternative sources of water is also important for sustainability and passive survivability. Several sources of water can be harvested at the building level as well as through municipal-scale wastewater treatment and desalination.

  • Water: Doing More With Less

    Feature Article

    The U.S. uses about 400 billion gallons of water a day, and water shortages are becoming more common. Water-saving products and technologies, some currently on the market and others in development, can reduce that wasteful flow to a trickle.

Quick Takes

Jump straight to the essentials with these short explanations of green building concepts.

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  • Graywater Collection and Use

    Explainer

    If properly stored and separated from potable water, graywater collected from sinks, showers, and clothes washers can be used to irrigate landscaping.

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