Eco-friendly Plumbing Parker

The term "green plumbing" describes environmentally friendly practices and technologies used in the plumbing industry. The overarching goal is to conserve water—and in doing so—as much as possible, to reduce the environmental impact that plumbing systems have traditionally created. Often this means using fixtures and appliances that are much more efficient than their predecessors (think low-flow toilets instead of the old high-capacity monsters), which requires a mind directed toward the possibilities of what water-saving and energy-saving equipment and systems could do. Green plumbing is as much about plumbing systems as it is about plumbing fixtures and appliances.

Environmentally friendly plumbing practices and systems that are designed to conserve water and reduce energy consumption—such as using sustainable materials, efficient water fixtures, low-flow toilets and showerheads, tankless water heaters, and plumbing systems that incorporate water recycling and rainwater harvesting—are what we might call "eco plumbing." These practices have as their goal, in significant part, the creation of plumbing systems that have a reduced ecological footprint and don't waste Earth’s dwindling supplies of fresh water.

Sustainable plumbing has many advantages. One is the conservation of our most precious resource: water.That is something we don’t think too much about until we sit down to pay the bills, and then all we can do is Richmond half-facelift over those prices. Green plumbing gets us there much more efficiently by using the high-efficiency fixtures and systems that put really decent plans into action. Those plans are pro-water usage reduction and anti-uplifting because the more we cut down on emissions, the more we increase the plumbing's long-term indoor air quality and durability, which are two more wins for paradigm-shifting peace among greener homes.

Green plumbing pipe is commonly called PEX, or cross-linked polyethylene. PEX is known for its environmental advantages, mainly because it is energy-efficient and can be recycled. PEX is often used in eco-minded plumbing systems.

The reason the copper water pipes in your house are turning green has to do with a process of oxidation, much like what happens to iron when it rusts. The oxidation of copper happens when the metal is exposed to both air and water over time. This results in a layer of copper carbonate forming on the surface of the pipes. Copper carbonate has a bluish-green color to it and you may know this layer by its fancier name: patina. Unlike what happens when iron rusts, the layer of patina that copper forms helps protect the underlying metal from any further corrosion.

The greenest plumbing pipe is cross-linked polyethylene, commonly called PEX. Flexible, durable, and efficient, it requires few joints, reducing the chances of pesky leaks. It also scales and corrodes much less than other materials. When you consider the life cycle of a plumbing system from raw materials to installation, the main alternative used for residential systems, copper, actually wastes a lot of energy. Working with copper requires intense, directed heat and solder, a watery brass epoxy, that when spread over huge sections of piping uses energy as if you were powering a small army of hair dryers. By comparison, installing PEX is nearly effortless.

There are multiple advantages to using green pipes for sewers. To begin with, these pipes are made from either recycled materials or sustainable, "virgin" materials, which cuts down on the environmental impacts of the usual pipe-making culprits—concrete, PVC, ductile iron, or HDPE—that we discussed earlier. These green pipes are then designed, for the most part, to use as little water as possible and to move wastewater efficiently through the system, which again has some benefits for the utility sink in your basement or wherever you might happen to have a utility sink in your home. Then, of course, these green pipes also have the benefit of lasting longer than the standard sewer pipe.

In discussions about eco-friendly plumbing options, one often hears about a relatively new type of pipe called PEX, or cross-linked polyethylene. PEX is quite popular, not only because it is modern, but also because it is an eco-friendly option. So why is it eco-friendly? And are other plumbing pipes equally eco-friendly?In this piece, I will answer those questions while also delving into why plumbing pipes are important to the conversation about eco-friendly home construction.

Often, PEX is seen as a preferable alternative to copper for plumbing in Parker when considering environmental factors. The reasons for this are many. PEX is much more flexible than copper, making it easier to work with and requiring fewer fittings—fewer connection points where leaks can occur and where material waste can happen. Not to mention, PEX takes only a fraction of the energy needed to produce copper. With all that said, PEX has virtually no serious downsides from an environmental perspective. If its production had any significant negative impacts, that might give people pause, but it simply doesn't. PEX is what we call "plumbable."

When it comes to eco-friendly and safe plumbing pipes, copper is the prime candidate. Not only is it resistant to the proliferation of bacteria (a major concern with potable water systems), but it's also super durable. Copper pipe can last as long as the house it was put into and is recyclable at the end of its long life (which, by the way, is more than you can say for the plastic in PEX, which is made from fossil fuels and is not recyclable). Unlike some other pipe materials (such as PVC, which is made from both fossil fuels and toxic chemicals), copper doesn't leach harmful stuff into the water. And as drinking water goes, that's pretty darn eco-friendly.