Monday, 14 January 2013
Monday, 7 January 2013
Tuesday, 2 October 2012
How Much Does It Cost to Operate a Water Softener?
My favorite response to this question is "A water softener doesn't cost - it saves"
A typical family of 4 will save $40 to $70 per month just by installing a water softener.
But I know that is never the answer that you are looking for. If you haven't had a water softener before, it is a natural question, and I'm going to try to give you a really good idea of what you can expect to spend to operate a water softener. As usual, I'm going to try to avoid as much technical detail as I can, so if you see any technical details that aren't quite right, you probably know how to adjust what I'm saying or already will know how to figure out the costs yourself.
There are 4 areas that could be considered operating costs - electricity, water, sewer and salt (or potassium for some users). Because of the nature of the costs, I will deal with electricity first, then water, sewer and salt together, then touch on potassium chloride.
Before I start, I need to let you know how I came up with the numbers. I used actual water softeners installed in my home. We had 4 - 5 people living in the home, water hardness averaged 13 grains per gallon. This is a pretty common number in our area, and if your hardness varies. you can make adjustment from there. Other factors I'm using are $0.20 per pound of salt, water at $1.12 per cubic meter, and sewer at $0.703 per cubic meter.
Electricity
While there is one brand that uses water flow past gears to operate instead of electricity, Almost all water softeners use electricity to run. Primarily to operate timers and drive motors. The amount used will be very small - not much more than a clock.
Normal operation of an electronic water softener will have the clock running continuously and the power draw is so small I consider it negligible. When the motor is moving the valve during recharge, it is still a small demand and at electrical rates of 8.9 cents per kwh a typical annual electrical cost will be under $1.00.
Salt, Water and Sewer
The cost of these items will vary depending on water hardness, how much water you use and the water softener control.
The first control factor is if the unit is demand or timeclock driven. A timeclock softener will recharge on a fixed schedule. This is the most wasteful way for a softener to work. Our softener had to recharge every 3 days, using 60 pounds of salt per month. These softeners are usually not very water efficient either - using over 50 gallons per recharge. So that means a total monthly operating cost of under $15.
Then we tried a demand softener. These softeners track the water that you use and recharge once a preset volume of water has been treated.They are advertised to use about 1/2 of the salt and water. Our experience was an actual savings of 20%. So this unit cost under $12 per month to run.
Then we used a Culligan Aqua-Sensor. These units rely on electronics to measure the condition of the unit to determine when they need to recharge. It makes a lot of sense since the water hardness varies throughout the year to measure the bed, and as long as the unit functions properly, it will save salt and water. Unfortunately, we had to set the softener for a higher salt dosage for it to work, but we did see a 40% savings. This unit cost us less than $9 per month.
Finally we tried and Ecowater Refiner. This is a demand water softener that tracks water use int he home but includes other factors to reduce costs:
Potassium Chloride
This can be used as a salt replacement for recharging your water softener. If you are drinking soft water it is a good choice, and the plumbing code recommends it for softeners draining into septic systems.
It is over 3 times the price of salt and your conditioner will use more than salt.
So as i said at the start, a water softener doesn't cost - it saves!
Call us to see how:
At Holmes Ecowater, we make your home's water - Better!
But I know that is never the answer that you are looking for. If you haven't had a water softener before, it is a natural question, and I'm going to try to give you a really good idea of what you can expect to spend to operate a water softener. As usual, I'm going to try to avoid as much technical detail as I can, so if you see any technical details that aren't quite right, you probably know how to adjust what I'm saying or already will know how to figure out the costs yourself.
There are 4 areas that could be considered operating costs - electricity, water, sewer and salt (or potassium for some users). Because of the nature of the costs, I will deal with electricity first, then water, sewer and salt together, then touch on potassium chloride.
Before I start, I need to let you know how I came up with the numbers. I used actual water softeners installed in my home. We had 4 - 5 people living in the home, water hardness averaged 13 grains per gallon. This is a pretty common number in our area, and if your hardness varies. you can make adjustment from there. Other factors I'm using are $0.20 per pound of salt, water at $1.12 per cubic meter, and sewer at $0.703 per cubic meter.
Electricity
While there is one brand that uses water flow past gears to operate instead of electricity, Almost all water softeners use electricity to run. Primarily to operate timers and drive motors. The amount used will be very small - not much more than a clock.
Normal operation of an electronic water softener will have the clock running continuously and the power draw is so small I consider it negligible. When the motor is moving the valve during recharge, it is still a small demand and at electrical rates of 8.9 cents per kwh a typical annual electrical cost will be under $1.00.
Salt, Water and Sewer
The cost of these items will vary depending on water hardness, how much water you use and the water softener control.
The first control factor is if the unit is demand or timeclock driven. A timeclock softener will recharge on a fixed schedule. This is the most wasteful way for a softener to work. Our softener had to recharge every 3 days, using 60 pounds of salt per month. These softeners are usually not very water efficient either - using over 50 gallons per recharge. So that means a total monthly operating cost of under $15.
Then we tried a demand softener. These softeners track the water that you use and recharge once a preset volume of water has been treated.They are advertised to use about 1/2 of the salt and water. Our experience was an actual savings of 20%. So this unit cost under $12 per month to run.
Then we used a Culligan Aqua-Sensor. These units rely on electronics to measure the condition of the unit to determine when they need to recharge. It makes a lot of sense since the water hardness varies throughout the year to measure the bed, and as long as the unit functions properly, it will save salt and water. Unfortunately, we had to set the softener for a higher salt dosage for it to work, but we did see a 40% savings. This unit cost us less than $9 per month.
Finally we tried and Ecowater Refiner. This is a demand water softener that tracks water use int he home but includes other factors to reduce costs:- Upflow regeneration is far more efficient in salt and water use and makes softer water
- Proportional brining recharges only the portion of the capacity used
- A sophisticated algorithm better predicts when recharge is needed
- Average water usage per recharge is only 32 gallons
Potassium Chloride
This can be used as a salt replacement for recharging your water softener. If you are drinking soft water it is a good choice, and the plumbing code recommends it for softeners draining into septic systems.
It is over 3 times the price of salt and your conditioner will use more than salt.
So as i said at the start, a water softener doesn't cost - it saves!
Call us to see how:
At Holmes Ecowater, we make your home's water - Better!
Tuesday, 25 September 2012
What is Reverse Osmosis?
How can you turn Sea Water into Drinking Water?
What is the most practical way to demineralize water?
What is one of the best Multi-Barrier water treatment systems for your home drinking water?
How can you turn tap water into bottled water quality?
Reverse Osmosis
So - What is Reverse Osmosis?
If you have come across one of the various technical explanations available (Here's a pretty good one) , most people find the explanations too scientific and frankly don't read them.
I'd like to simplify what a reverse osmosis system (I'm going to shorten it to RO for the rest of this article) does, and while it may not be 100% technically accurate, I'm hoping it will give you a clearer idea.
When it comes to home systems, the RO unit will be part of a complete water treatment system.
The first stage is prefiltration that will remove dirt, particles, sediment etc. that is 15 times finer than a human hair. Prefiltration also removes chlorine and some organic substances. As well as improving your water, this helps to protect the RO membrane.
The next step is the RO membrane. It separates the water into 2 streams - good high quality drinking water in 1 stream and everything else in the other. This waste water is directed down the drain (or back into your plumbing system if you have a zero waste option). The good water is stored in a holding tank.
Before the water reaches the tap, it passes through a polishing filter. Then to your glass - great tasting, high quality drinking water.
Check out how
"At Holmes Ecowater, We Make Your Home's Water - Better!"
What is the most practical way to demineralize water?
What is one of the best Multi-Barrier water treatment systems for your home drinking water?
How can you turn tap water into bottled water quality?
Reverse Osmosis
So - What is Reverse Osmosis?
If you have come across one of the various technical explanations available (Here's a pretty good one) , most people find the explanations too scientific and frankly don't read them.
When it comes to home systems, the RO unit will be part of a complete water treatment system.
The first stage is prefiltration that will remove dirt, particles, sediment etc. that is 15 times finer than a human hair. Prefiltration also removes chlorine and some organic substances. As well as improving your water, this helps to protect the RO membrane.
The next step is the RO membrane. It separates the water into 2 streams - good high quality drinking water in 1 stream and everything else in the other. This waste water is directed down the drain (or back into your plumbing system if you have a zero waste option). The good water is stored in a holding tank.
Before the water reaches the tap, it passes through a polishing filter. Then to your glass - great tasting, high quality drinking water.
Check out how
"At Holmes Ecowater, We Make Your Home's Water - Better!"
Monday, 10 September 2012
Our Latest Newsletter
Check out our latest Newsletter.
It's full of interesting links, all of our contact information and a savings coupon.
Monday, 20 August 2012
Is Hard Water Making You Ill?
We've always considered hard water to be an aesthetic concern. You know: hard to clean bathtub ring and film on shower tiles, dry itchy skin after bathing, dramatically higher cleaning costs, increased heating and maintenance costs due to scale build up.
But now, evidence is making us reconsider what that scale can actually do.
Legionnaires Disease is far more common that we think.
The CDC estimates that between 8,000 and 18,000 cases are hospitalized with many cases going unreported. CDC Fact Sheet.
If you want a scientific article, here it is.
Gives you something to think about and another reason to appreciate your water softener.
If you don't have one yet - give us a call.
Legionnaires Disease is far more common that we think.
The CDC estimates that between 8,000 and 18,000 cases are hospitalized with many cases going unreported. CDC Fact Sheet.
Any place moisture can build up may cause bacteria, such as legionella,
to grow. The bacteria can grow in hot tubs, air conditioning systems
(especially large commercial units), hot water tanks, plumbing systems
and cooling towers. Limescale deposits in the water system allow water
to pool when the fixtures aren’t in use. This pooling allows bacteria to
grow and potentially infect those using or exposed to the system.
“By far the greatest risk lies within the humble hot and cold water systems, which deliver the disease through taps and shower heads. Legionella bacteria thrive in temperatures between 20-45 degrees Celsius; and if water is allowed to sit at these temperatures the bacterium can multiply into large numbers which can cause Legionnaires’ disease,” according to Simon French, a legionella expert and HVCA Service and Facilities Group member.
In another study, scientists tested shower heads. Tests revealed nearly a third of devices harbour significant levels of a bug that causes lung disease.
Levels of Mycobacterium avium were 100 times higher than those found in typical household water supplies.
M. avium forms a biofilm that clings to the inside of the shower head, reports the National Academy of Science.
Lead researcher Professor Norman Pace, said: "If you are getting a face
full of water when you first turn your shower on, that means you are
probably getting a particularly high load of Mycobacterium avium, which
may not be too healthy." BBC Article
Gives you something to think about and another reason to appreciate your water softener.
If you don't have one yet - give us a call.
Monday, 13 August 2012
Clean your water cooler!
How do you clean your cooler? These are the steps that we use:
1) Unplug cord and allow the unit
to come to room temperature. For Hot and Cold coolers, run some water out of
the hot tap after unplugging to cool the water.
2) Remove the bottle. Empty the reservoir through the faucets. For
Hot and Cold coolers, also remove the drain plug at the back of the
cooler. Replace after the hot tank is
empty.
3)
Remove the lid of your
dispenser. No-Spill tops require a
little extra effort to pull off and push on. Some have a locking pin. Some
require a partial counter-clockwise turn before removing.
4)
Mix a cleaning solution by
adding 1 tablespoon of household bleach to 1 gallon of fresh water. Thoroughly
wipe inside of reservoir with cleaning solution and a clean cloth or paper
towel.
5)
Fill reservoir with cleaning
solution. For Hot and Cold coolers, open the hot faucet until water comes out
and top up the reservoir with solution.
6)
Spray a diluted solution of
bleach and water inside the faucet spouts.
Let stand for 5 minutes, and then drain through the faucets. For Hot and
Cold coolers, also remove the drain plug at the back of the cooler. Replace after the hot tank is empty.
7)
Fill the reservoir with fresh
water. For Hot and Cold coolers, open the hot faucet until water comes out and
top up the reservoir with fresh water.
8)
Drain through the faucets. For Hot and
Cold coolers, also remove the drain plug at the back of the cooler. Replace after the hot tank is empty.
9)
Repeat steps 7 & 8 once
more.
10)
Remove the air filter from the
top.
11) Clean the top in a clean sink filled with fresh water and a mild bleach
solution.
12)
Rinse the top with fresh water,
and dry with clean paper towel.
13)
Replace air filter
14)
Replace cooler top.
15)
Replace bottle.
16)
Open faucets one at a time
until water runs from each.
17)
Plug unit back in.
18) Water should be chilled and
hot, if so equipped in about 1/2 hour.
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