Eco-friendly Plumbing Englewood

The term "eco plumbing" describes plumbing that is good for the environment—specifically plumbing that conserves water, produces as little waste as possible, and uses energy efficiently. This can mean very different things in different places. In places with water shortages, it can mean fixtures that use very little water. In places with reliable water supplies, recycling can be an equally important strategy. In fact, zero plumbing fixtures can be recycled leaves that are composted not only to nourish the plants in your home's garden but also the "plumbing vines" that create a sustainable, effective eco-friendly plumbing system.

Plumbing that conserves water is a substantial benefit for the residents of Englewood. "Green" fixtures, appliances, and systems are designed to maximize not just water flow but also water conservation. The result is better water efficiency in our homes and commercial properties. And that benefits everyone in a watershed community like ours. Because water is a shared resource, anything we do to save it also potentially saves others upstream or downstream from us with whom we share the water in the aquifer, the river, or the ocean. It reduces the necessity for our water utilities to draw upon our shared surface and ground water in the conservation district. And, of course, when water is conserved, the saved energy that would have been used to heat the water, pump it to our homes, and get it flowing in the first place also results in savings of money and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Plumbing systems usually come in three varieties: supply systems, drainage systems, and stormwater systems. When people talk about the "plumbed in" life, they usually mean potable supply systems. These are the pipes that carry the reformed potable water (the water that has gone through treatment to make it safe for human consumption) from public or private water treatment plants to the inside of the home or building in question. Once the water reaches its destination, it splits into lines (serving the same 6 psi rule) that go to various fixtures and appliances. Once the water gets to living spaces and does its human-serving thing, it invariably becomes wastewater. That water is no longer potable. It's the stuff that, to quote my friend, "you don't want to drink."

When we speak of the green pipes employed in plumbing, we are usually referring to those made from chlorinated polyvinyl chloride, or CPVC. These pipes, like those made from PVC, are not only ecologically friendly but also very strong and durable. They can withstand the temperature extremes of everyday plumbing and are much more corrosion-resistant than the metal alternatives commonly used in the past. If you were to use them in a green- or fair-building project, you could also claim to be conserving water because these pipes are very unlikely to spring a leak.

In Englewood, plumbing that utilizes green technologies looks to sustain, modernize, and make the most of water-efficient systems. These engineers do not use the now-phased-out galvanized steel pipes of old, which used to be the go-to metal choice. They also don't use lead pipes and fixtures anymore—we all know by now that lead is a bad thing to have in your drinking water. If you want to plumb for the future, it's gotta be PEX tubing, copper, or good ol' safe and sound PVC in your pipe dreams.

The abbreviation DWV represents the words drain, waste, and vent.

An average day in the life of an eco-friendly plumber in Englewood starts with plumbing projects that call for sustainable solutions. These may include repairs to existing fixtures or installations of new, water-saving equipment, including low-flow toilets and faucets. The primary focus here is not only on the kind of standard, high-efficiency plumbing for which most sustainable-plumbing projects have become known. That's because some types of "green" plumbing installations might not be code compliant or could function poorly. So, when a project falls under the "green-plumbing" banner, it needs to pass a lot of crucial tests. Not only must it use the right types of materials and installation methods to conserve water, but it also must comply with local plumbing codes. That way, clients can have confidence that the solutions we're providing are safe, will last a long time, and, most importantly, will work much more efficiently than standard plumbing does.

The latest incarnation of plumbing is being referred to as eco-friendly or green plumbing.

These days, you don't see cast iron pipes used nearly as much as they were in the past—and for several good reasons. For starters, they're just so weighty. Heavy materials are always a nuisance and a cost when it comes to installation and transportation, but nothing is worse than a pipe that you can't easily handle and that costs a fortune to ship. Then there's the matter of time. Where corrosion is concerned, cast iron obviously doesn't have a good track record; today, we wouldn't even consider it a reasonable maintenance schedule to have a plumbing system that regularly requires attention. Even with some recent disputed research claiming cast iron can be corrosion-resistant, the reality is that, with poor installation practices, your plumbing might start failing any time from 30 to 75 years after the first flame.

In Englewood, cross-linked polyethylene (PEX) pipes are considered among the most eco-friendly options for plumbing. They are highly resilient, can withstand a range of conditions, and are far more adaptable to temperature changes compared to traditional plumbing materials. PEX's flexibility and the fewer number of fittings necessary for a plumbing run mean that it has the potential to be more leak-proof than some other materials and, therefore, contributes to water conservation efforts. Another plus for PEX: It takes less energy to install than metal plumbing.