As I am scrounging around for another few points to hit the Gold level threshold for our soon-t0-be LEED Certified home, I am advised to do an easy thing, that is worth two points: install aerators in all of our sink faucets (except the kitchen sink). Aerators lower the gallons per minute flow rate by mixing the water with air, so while the pressure feels the same, you use less water. Our sink faucets currently have a flow rate of 2.2 gallons per minute. To get two points in LEED, they need to be ≤ 1.5 gallons per minute. When we first purchased our faucets over two years ago, no such aerators existed that fit with our faucets. Now they do, so I ordered them. They were $20 each. Most aerators are in the $10-$20 range, but Centerpoint Energy offers them for free — because they want to help save energy anywhere they can. We have six sinks, and I installed all of them today in about 10 minutes.
As I say in the video, assume each of the four of us in the household has the faucet on for one minute per day (which is conservative — for daily hand and face washing, plus brushing teeth, plus my husband shaving, it’s probably twice that). The aerators save us at least 0.7 gallons per minute per person, which is 2.8
gallons per day and over 1,000 gallons per year! Right now, water is ridiculously inexpensive, so for us, the payback could be around five years. But, if you can get the aerators for free from Centerpoint Energy, it’s an immediate financial gain. And I do feel better knowing we are saving that much water, for just 10 minutes of my time. I just wish the aerators had been available sooner!