Green for Green ($$)

You don’t have to build a strawbale home or install expensive solar arrays or wind turbines to save energy around the house. It’s easy and inexpensive to save a little extra green each month by turning your bathroom into a “green room.” Simple and low-cost solutions to slow water consumption can keep your cash flowing; installing low-flow toilets, showerheads and faucet aerators will certainly make an impact.

Toilets are the single largest user of water in the home, accounting for up to 28 percent of water use. If your bathroom was built or remodeled before 1994, your toilet could be using as much as twice the water of a modern version. Newer models will instantly save water and money—up to $50 a year. You can check the age of your toilet by lifting the cover on the tank and looking for the year of manufacture which is etched into the porcelain.

Using a low-flow showerhead could save a family of four, $250 in a single year. The lowest flow showerhead averages 1.2 to 1.4gpm (gallons per minute), meaning it uses about half the water of a typical showerhead. Some models have a built-in soap valve (a handy button you can press to stop the flow for a moment), while you lather or shave. Best of all, it only takes two minutes and not a single tool to screw the showerhead in!

Ann Heitland at RE/MAX Peak Properties is EcoBroker Certified^®. If you’d like to buy an energy-efficient home in Flagstaff, AZ, or emphasize the “green home” features of a Flagstaff home you want to sell, contact Ann at 928-714-0001.