Hello everyone,
I think rainwater could definitely be used safely and effectively for the house. Using it as non-potable water for toilet flushing or for the washing machine would be ideal. Are there already systems available that treat the water for this purpose?
See you, Ganurin
I think rainwater could definitely be used safely and effectively for the house. Using it as non-potable water for toilet flushing or for the washing machine would be ideal. Are there already systems available that treat the water for this purpose?
See you, Ganurin
G
Gartenfreund1 Jul 2016 02:33The cost of such a system depends on many factors.
How large should it be?
What material should be used?
Will the water be used only in the garden or also inside the house?
If it is also used inside the house, for example for the toilet, then a separate pipe must be installed.
Additionally, a separate water meter will be required.
Can the system be installed as a DIY project, or does a professional company need to handle it?
This means it might cost around a thousand euros, but as is often the case, there is practically no upper limit.
A few years ago, I installed such a system myself to save on the rainwater charge. The water is used only for the garden, so it takes about five years for the system to pay off.
How large should it be?
What material should be used?
Will the water be used only in the garden or also inside the house?
If it is also used inside the house, for example for the toilet, then a separate pipe must be installed.
Additionally, a separate water meter will be required.
Can the system be installed as a DIY project, or does a professional company need to handle it?
This means it might cost around a thousand euros, but as is often the case, there is practically no upper limit.
A few years ago, I installed such a system myself to save on the rainwater charge. The water is used only for the garden, so it takes about five years for the system to pay off.
Thank you for your response. My main focus is on using rainwater efficiently. Definitely for the garden, and since the house is not built yet, I am also considering using rainwater inside the house. At the moment, I find it somewhat difficult to calculate whether it is cost-effective or not.
Kind regards
Kind regards
To my knowledge, using rainwater inside the house is generally not cost-effective or only pays off after a very long payback period. The wastewater fees are higher than the drinking water costs, and you have to pay those anyway.
Earlier this year, I considered getting 2-3 IBC containers for garden irrigation. I calculated what 3 containers with a pump, connection sets, and some form of enclosure would cost. I came to about €400 without an enclosure and €600 with some wooden cladding if I wanted it to look decent. If I could save around two-thirds of last year’s consumption of 30m³ (39 cubic yards), that would be significant. I watered the lawn almost every day because we had an extremely long dry and hot period last year.
In some cases, you can even be exempted from wastewater fees for outdoor water taps. Unfortunately, for us, that only applies if consumption exceeds 93m³ (122 cubic yards) for a household of three people. I used that much including irrigation, so I can only offset the saved drinking water costs of around €2.50/m³ (about $2.75/yd³). That would amount to about €50 ($55) per year for 20m³ (26 cubic yards), which means at least a 12-year payback period. Plus, you need the space for the 3 containers.
For me, using the garden tap is simply more convenient—just turn it on and you’re done. Also, the water pressure here in summer is so high that I can reach from one side of the lawn to the other with our sprinkler. I probably wouldn’t be able to do that with a pump and would have to move the sprinkler multiple times.
I find the stylish rain barrels priced at €200 ($220) or more for 300 liters (80 gallons) interesting. I assume it would take more than 40 years for those to pay off. Whether they would still be usable after that time is doubtful.
Earlier this year, I considered getting 2-3 IBC containers for garden irrigation. I calculated what 3 containers with a pump, connection sets, and some form of enclosure would cost. I came to about €400 without an enclosure and €600 with some wooden cladding if I wanted it to look decent. If I could save around two-thirds of last year’s consumption of 30m³ (39 cubic yards), that would be significant. I watered the lawn almost every day because we had an extremely long dry and hot period last year.
In some cases, you can even be exempted from wastewater fees for outdoor water taps. Unfortunately, for us, that only applies if consumption exceeds 93m³ (122 cubic yards) for a household of three people. I used that much including irrigation, so I can only offset the saved drinking water costs of around €2.50/m³ (about $2.75/yd³). That would amount to about €50 ($55) per year for 20m³ (26 cubic yards), which means at least a 12-year payback period. Plus, you need the space for the 3 containers.
For me, using the garden tap is simply more convenient—just turn it on and you’re done. Also, the water pressure here in summer is so high that I can reach from one side of the lawn to the other with our sprinkler. I probably wouldn’t be able to do that with a pump and would have to move the sprinkler multiple times.
I find the stylish rain barrels priced at €200 ($220) or more for 300 liters (80 gallons) interesting. I assume it would take more than 40 years for those to pay off. Whether they would still be usable after that time is doubtful.
Gartenfreund schrieb:
A few years ago, I built something similar myself to save on stormwater charges. Musketier schrieb:
Sewer charges are more expensive than drinking water costs, and you still have to pay them anyway.I’m not sure how much this varies from state to state.
Our 10 m³ (13 yd³) cistern has an overflow into the sewer system (which, as we’ve seen this year, is practical). Because of the overflow function and the connection to the sewer, we still pay sewer fees for the rainwater.
Unfortunately.
The sewer fee based on drinking water consumption is calculated according to water usage.
So we save the purchase price per m³ (yd³) of drinking water used for garden irrigation and (since we don’t use drinking water for irrigation) also the sewer fee for the unused drinking water.
Musketier schrieb:
For me, having a tap is simply more convenient. You just turn it on and that’s it. Also, in summer, our water pressure is so high that I can reach exactly from one side of our sprinkler to the other. I probably wouldn’t achieve that with a pump and would have to move the sprinkler multiple times. Our pump delivers 5 bar (72 psi) of pressure. This means the pressure at the irrigation nozzle (we don’t have a sprinkler active yet) is significantly higher than at the tap.
f-pNo schrieb:
I don’t know how much this differs from one federal state to another.
Our 10 m³ (13 yd³) cistern has an overflow connected to the sewer system (which, as we’ve seen this year, makes sense). Because of this overflow/function and the connection to the sewer, we still pay sewage fees for the rainwater. Unfortunately.
The sewage fee for drinking water consumption is based on water usage.
So, we save on the purchase price per m³ (yd³) of drinking water used for garden irrigation and—since we don’t use drinking water for irrigation—also the sewage fee for the drinking water not consumed.My first paragraph referred to the previous post, which discussed the use of rainwater as service water, for example for toilet flushing. Of course, sewage fees must be paid for the rainwater used in that way.
But you are right; in my calculation, I only considered drinking water. If it is not possible to be exempted from sewage charges, then both drinking water and sewage fees for the 20 m³ (26 yd³) would of course have to be factored in. I’m curious to see how much outdoor water we will consume this year. I expect it to be much less, so the 20 m³ (26 yd³) savings would probably be an overestimate. I will run the numbers again in autumn after the second season.
f-pNo schrieb:
Our pump has a pressure of 5 bar (72.5 psi). This means the pressure at the irrigation nozzle (we don’t have a sprinkler running yet) is significantly higher than at the outdoor faucet. That’s interesting. What kind of pump is it? I have our water pressure set to over 4 bar (58 psi) as well.
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