While it might not seem like water has anything to do with energy, a lot of energy goes into heating water for a variety of living necessities. There are two main ways to reduce the impact that water use has on campus energy consumption: conservation and alternative heating.

Conservation

Many schools have taken on campaigns to encourage water saving practices. Many of these campaigns take the form of bathroom fliers!

Water Saving Tips

• Do not allow water to run continuously when washing dishes, brushing your teeth, washing your hands, or shaving.
• Run dishwashers and washing machines only with full loads.
• Take shorter showers. Showers use between five and ten gallons of water every minute.
• Collect water from your shower while you wait for it to heat up.  The water can be used to water plants or wash dishes.
• If dishes are washed by hand, water can be saved by filling the sink or a dishpan with water rather than running water continuously. An open conventional faucet lets about 5 gallons of water flow every 2 minutes (Florida Commission, 1990).
• Some washing machines have adjustable water levels, this should be set to best match the amount of clothes being washed.
• Get leaks fixed on faucets, running toilets, and dripping shower heads. Water expenses can be greatly reduced through simple maintenance measures.
• Install low flow or water less fixtures.  Using dual-flush toilets, composting toilets as well as waterless urinals and low-flow faucets can significantly reduce the amount of water used for a daily needs thus reducing your campuses water bill.
  

Solar Hot Water

Water can be heated using alternative energy sources, most successfully through solar heating. This system is a two step process where the water is “pre-heated” in a water storage tank by energy from the sun and then pumped through a backup water heater (natural gas) before it’s used as hot water in a residence. Applications of solar water heaters on university campuses are mostly at college owned houses where it is easy to supplement a natural gas water heater with a solar-powered system.