How does water get from the source to your tap? What does water have to do with your home’s kWh usage? Thanks to Sustainable Homes for providing this short clip from their video on Net Zero Carbon homes explaining more.
Water makes quite the journey on the way to the end user. Whether from rain, rivers, lakes, or aquifers, water collection is the first step.
Before the water is even suitable for use, electricity is used in collecting it. Once sourced, treatment facilities clean and purify it. This step uses further energy. Wastewater from the collection and purification process is either purified again or discarded.
Processing water for end use requires a lot of energy; about 19%-20% of the total electricity used in California, for example. But a massive amount of water goes into producing ample electricity, and vice versa.
An average homeowner uses about 2000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) a month. To meet the demand for electricity, we need to account for the loss between the power plant and the home. A safe estimate is about a 25% loss during transit.
Some quick math:
2000 * .25 = 500
2000kWh + 500kWh = 2500kWh to meet electrical demand.
All forms of energy, except for solar and wind, require water to harvest, process, and clean. The largest energy source today is coal. According to the Virginia Water Research Center, it takes about 25 gallons of water to make 1kWh of electricity.
25 gallons * 2500 = 62,500
A standard home using 2500kWh of power uses 62,500 gallons of water to obtain that energy. And that’s just water to generate the power your home uses, not the water used in laundry, cooking, yard work, etc. But Sustainable Homes are Net Zero Carbon after completion, meaning that the home generates everything it needs.
Using less water means using less energy, and using less energy leads to less water use. Simple changes around the home can add up to big savings. Turning off lights and faucets when not in use, making sure any leaks are addressed, installing energy-saving appliances, and cutting down on the wait time for hot water at the pump. Click here for more information, spec sheets, and pricing on our Residential models to start saving water and energy.