Home   Syllabus   Grading   Project Generator   Video Wall   Sayings/Dichos   Class Projects

Class Projects

Lauren Erica Davis, 4/5/2012

If all U.S. households installed water-saving features, water use would decrease by 30 percent, saving an estimated 5.4 billion gallons per day. This would result in dollar-volume savings of $11.3 million per day or more than $4 billion per year.

Water-conserving fixtures installed in U.S. households in 1998 alone have saved 44 million gallons of water every day, resulting in total dollar-value savings of more than $33.6 million per year.

Water Use Statistics (modified, from Drinktap.org)

Daily indoor per capita water use is 69.3 gallons. Here is how it breaks down:

Use

Gallons per Capita

Gallons per capita
(with water-saving appliances)

Water saved

Showers

11.6*

8.8*

2.8

Clothes Washers

15.0*

10.0*

5.0

Dishwashers

1.0

0.7

0.3

Toilets

18.5

8.2

10.3

Baths

1.2*

1.2*

0

Leaks

9.5*

4.0*

5.5

Faucets

10.9*

10.8*

0.1

Other Domestic Uses

1.6

1.6

0
Total 69.3 gallons 45.3 gallons 24 gallons/person/day =
35% savings
Amount that can be recycled   34.8 gallons =
76.8% can be reused!		  

*recyclable

Average household water use annually (including outdoor): 127,400 gallons

Average daily household water use (including outdoor): 350 gallons

Source: Residential End Uses of Water (Denver, Colo.: Water Research Foundation, 1999).

In 2010, the average annual electricity consumption for a U.S. residential utility customer was 11,496 kWh, an average of 958 kilowatthours (kWh) per month. Tennessee had the highest annual consumption at 16,716 kWh and Maine the lowest at 6,252 kWh. http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=97&t=3

According to EIA data, national, annual electricity transmission and distribution losses average about 7% of the electricity that is transmitted in the United States.

Smart grids=10-40% savings
Please see Smart grids document.

Energy savings using energy star products

  Energy star
savings		 % energy usage
in home		 Average usage
in kWh/month		 Average energy star
usage in kWh/month 		Energy savings
(kWh)/ month		 Average yearly
saving
Lights 75% 12% 114.96 28.74    
Appliances 10-50% 13% 124.54 62.27-112.1    
Water heater 50% 14% 134.12 67.06    
Cooling 14% 17% 162.86 140.1    
Heating 20% 29% 277.88 222.3    
Windows 30%   -132.22 -108.72    
Total          

Grey water laws:
You can use grey water for landscapes only.

  1. Every gray water distribution system must provide for overflow into the sewer;
  2. Gray water storage tanks must be covered;
  3. Systems must not be sited in floodways;
  4. Gray water must be stored at least five feet above the ground water table;
  5. Pipes must be clearly identified;
  6. Gray water must not run out of a homeowner's property;
  7. Contact with people or domestic pets must be minimized;
  8. Ponding of gray water is prohibited;
  9. Spraying of gray water is prohibited;
  10. Gray water must not be discharged to a watercourse;
  11. Use of gray water must comply with local ordinances ; and
  12. No more than 250 gallons of gray water can be used in a given day.

Safe Use of Household Greywater, NMSU
How Gray Water Reclamation Works
Oasis Design