A Quest for the Most Efficient Toilet

We are always on the look out for advances in home living efficiency. Recently, there have been a few big pushes for greater efficiency in a very important area: toilets. Toilets make up a big portion of water usage in the U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends that homeowners replace old toilets with water-efficient WaterSense toilets. The EPA estimates that, “the average family can reduce water used for toilets by 20 to 60 percent”, which amounts to 13,000 gallons a year for every household (520 billion gallons of water nationally).

Those reductions can be achieved by replacing older toilets with more efficient toilets that use 1.28 gallons per flush (gpf), as opposed to the 1.6 gpf toilets that meet the current federal standard for toilet water usage. The state of California moved state standards to call for 1.28 gpf toilets back in 2007, and is currently proposing to lower standards even further. Georgia and Texas also have a 1.28 gpf standard. If the federal government imposed a 1.28 gpf standard, the country would save 92 billion gallons of water and $4.3 billion through 2035.

In addition to the tremendous water savings that WaterSense products can provide, water-efficient products improve energy efficiency. Electricity pumps clean water to the faucets and toilets in your home from ground or surface water. That water is often transported hundreds of miles and treated before flowing into your bathroom. When you reduce your water usage, you also reduce your electricity usage.

So, the next time you have some alone-time in your bathroom, consider the efficiency improvements you could make to your toilet. Remember, water and electricity savings amount to dollars saved on your monthly utilities.