EVELYN ECO HOUSE
 
About the Project      Water
Water takes energy to produce and, here in the south-east of England, supplies are not limitless.  It seems daft to use unecessarily or to waste it.
 
Water meters, like electricity meters, tend to make people think about their consumption and so they are a good way of helping people reduce their use.  Southern Water told me it is their policy to install a water meter in any house in the area when it changes hands which, after some chasing they have finally done.
 
 
Water recycling
It is possible to install a system to recycle greywater (water from baths, showers and basins) and this can be used in toilets, the washing machine and outside.  However, it is expensive and more suited to buildings such as hotels or large residential blocks (see greywater recycling).  Another option is to use rainwater off the roof but this house, like many does not lend itself to this easily.  Such a system would need a holding tank either above ground or dug into the garden.  This then needs a pump and filters to get the water to the appliances that could use it, the toilet and the washing machine.  The energy required in creating such a system and running it does not make sense and it is generally considered not a good environmental solution for most houses.  It is also quite disruptive in terms of plumbing.
 
Parity Projects house in Carshalton and some other eco house refurbishment projects have installed rainwater recycling systems.  One idea at the house in Carshalton is to take water from the roof and store it at a high enough level so that it can be used for the toilets without the need for a pump or big plastic tanks at ground level (though they have those as well) - worthwhile because toilets are generally the biggest users of water in a house.  However, you need space below eaves level and yet above the toilet in order to do this which not many houses have.
 
Reducing use
The better option for most people is just to reduce water use.  I have investigated low flow taps (too expensive) and fittings to retrofit to taps (I have tested these at home and think they do look rather unattractive and are irritating to use although they do definitely reduce water usage).  I had intended to install a water saving shower head but this was something that was forgotten.  There is a neat device in the toilet that I installed which will reduce the amount of water that is used in flushing (called interflush).  It works extremely well and is easy to fit to an old cistern.
 
Outside there is now a water butt fitted to the rainwater downpipe which will help with watering plants, though I find most water butts are nowhere near large enough to be much use.