By Patrick Gordon – consultant
Water saving is foremost on everybody’s minds at the moment. The new buzz word is ‘rainwater harvesting’. To make use of rainwater and to process grey water is a responsible thing to do and we should all be doing it. By doing your part you will be helping preserve our failing infrastructure.
But that is not all that you can do. By lightening the demand on the water supply system, we will not need to supplement the water supply as much. Some of us may not be able to do rainwater harvesting due to residential restrictions,
So how can you do your part? Did you know that older taps and mixers can use as much as 60ℓ of water per minute. As an example, if your shower is fitted with two Undertile taps and you use a rain type shower, your water consumption can easily be 50- 60ℓ/min. The plumbing industry has access to retrofittable flow restrictors that can be fitted to most taps and mixers.
Images supplied by Patrick Gordon
However, these are first generation water saving devices. The better option is to use a PCA type flow restrictor. So, what is the difference? A normal flow restrictor is just a small hole in a disk that restricts the water flow. The higher the pressure the more water it allows through. A PCA restrictor has an elastometer that changes shape when more water pressure is applied to it. The more it deflects, the more it closes the flow path. By doing this the maximum flow is controlled to be no more than the designed flow rate.
In the lefthand picture the Elastometer can be seen in the relaxed position, allowing maximum flow. The righthand picture shows the Elastometer under pressure. The ring has been squeezed into all the apertures, and is now restricting the flow. The more pressure is applied to the Elastometer the more the flow path will be restricted. The result is that when the designed flowrate through the PCA restrictor is achieved no extra flow will be allowed.
This type of restrictor is available for all aerated taps, shower roses and hand showers.
Even with this as a bit of a DIY project you can do your bit to save water.
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