When you wash your hands or brush your teeth, how often do you stop to consider how much water is going down the drain? Probably not too often, right? The amount of water used at the average bathroom faucet, 2.2 gallons of water per minute, is almost equivalent to the amount of water coming out of the average showerhead, which uses 2.5 gallons of water per minute. Using this amount of water at the bathroom faucet not only easily leads to water waste, but a waste of energy used to heat the water, and higher utility costs as well. Installing low faucet aerators is a simple and cost-effective way to solve these problems at the faucet.
Approximately 16 percent of indoor water use occurs through faucets in the average US home annually. Low flow faucet aerators are installed over the faucet tap to reduce the amount of water being released every minute. They restrict water use to as little as 0.5 gallons, and up to 1.5 gallons of water per minute. The chart below illustrates how much water is being saved with each type of low flow aerator.
Installing low faucet aerators does not only have an effect on water usage. Limiting the amount of water flowing from faucets also has an effect on the amount of energy used for water heating, and the cost of utilities. These exact numbers depend on the type of water heater (gas or electric) as well as how often hot water is used at the faucet as opposed to cold water.
In addition to all of the benefits they provide, low flow faucet aerators are very cost-effective. They cost as little as $0.95 each, and easily pay for themselves with the amount of money saved in both water and water heating costs.