Green Tips

All tips quoted by Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas M. Kostigen, co-authors of The Green Book.

Lawn Sprinklers

Try to use your sprinklers in early morning or evening. The average lawn needs only about one hour of watering per week. In Summer, outdoor water usage accounts for 40% of household water bills. The irrigation of U.S. lawns and landscapes claims an estimated 7.9 billion gallons of water per day — a volume that would fill fourteen billion 6-packs of beer.

Existing Lawn Irrigation

Consider installing a rain sensor to override your automatic sprinkler cycle during and after rain events. Depending on the local climate, your water consumption (and your water bill) could drop up to 30% per year.

Hoses

Fit your garden hose with an automatic shut off nozzle in order to prevent waste when the water is turned on and the hose is being used. You'll save up to 6.5 gallons per minute. If just 10 percent of the U.S. households attached shut off nozzles to their hoses and the average reduction in hose usage was just 30 seconds per week, the water saved would fill over 128,000 bathtubs every day.