If one out of every 10 U.S. households replaced their pre-1994 toilets with WaterSense labeled models, we could save nearly 300 million kilowatt hours of electricity every year—avoiding about 200,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions. That’s equivalent to removing more than 34,000 cars from the road for a whole year!

Drops to Watts: Have You Made the Water Use—Energy Connection?

From the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
The Water Sense, Issue V, Winter 2008

Did you know that if you install water-efficient fixtures and appliances, not only will you save water, but energy as well? It's no accident that PATH, the public-private Partnership for Advancing Housing Technology, recently named WaterSense labeled toilets among its Top 10 Energy-Efficient Remodeling Projects. But how does saving drops save watts?

Although most people understand that heating water requires energy, they don't always consider the energy it takes to treat and deliver the water they use. In 2005, the nation's municipal water infrastructure consumed about 56 billion kilowatt hours of electricity — that's enough energy to power more than 5 million homes for an entire year. Plus, as the demand for water grows, water utilities must pump water from more distant and deeper sources, which, in turn, requires even more energy.

Conversely, while it takes vast amounts of energy to run our water infrastructure, it also takes vast amounts of water to cool power plants that generate our electricity. About half of the water gathered in the United States from surface and groundwater sources is used to cool power plants. On average, each kilowatt-hour generated requires approximately 0.2 to 0.3 gallons of water.

That's why a simple, high-efficiency flush can really make a difference when it comes to addressing global warming—the less water we use, the fewer greenhouse gases will be produced to generate electricity. Because WaterSense labeled toilets use about 60 percent less water per flush than the average toilet, installing them is a great place to start.

Even the simplest projects can yield big results. For example, screwing on WaterSense labeled faucet aerators, which usually cost only a few dollars a piece, can reduce a household's water use by more than 500 gallons annually and save enough energy to power a hair dryer for eight minutes a day for a whole year. It's a simple equation: using less water saves money, conserves energy, and ultimately protects both resources for the future.

If 100 residential washers were replaced, we could remove 5 cars from the road per year. 

Calculate your Clothes Washer savings using the Energy Star Life Cycle Cost Estimater.