Rainwater harvesting has the prospective to save a large volumes of mains water and reduce the pressures on resources. It can be used in toilets, gardens and washing machines, instead of using mains water.
Rainwater harvesting collects the rainwater that falls, stores it, filters it and is then used it as the mains water. Rainwater is an important source and this system is essential for sustainable development. With an increasing awareness of the benefits of this, it is becoming standard for newly built houses in the UK to harvest rainwater.
There are a number of applications for using recycled rainwater. In place of resourced water the harvested water can be used for many things including toilet flushing, irrigation and landscape watering, vehicle washing, swimming pools, domestic and commercial laundry, cooling and sprinkler systems.
How it works
The rainwater harvesting system collects water through a household’s guttering system, which is then filtered and delivered to a storage tank. The tank is kept either above or below ground and is connected to a rainwater manager which controls the flow to the various sources of water usage around the house. When the manager detects that the water tank is empty it automatically switches to mains supply until the rain water tank can takeover again.
There are three different types of systems available:
- Non-pressurised systems for applications fed by gravity
- Pressurised systems for applications fed via direct pressure
- Domestic fed to washing machines, toilets and outside uses.
Benefits
- Rainwater harvesting has no carbon emissions as it is green and renewable. A typical home can expect to save up to 50% of their water consumption by installing the system.
- There is a wide range of installation options so can be applied to a wide range of roofs. The system size is based on the individual household to ensure that the correct size of tank is used to avoid wasted tank space and running out of water too often.
- Grants are also available to cut costs.
- Rainwater is free so after initial costs, water usage bills would be greatly reduced.
- Rainwater is also better for your garden as it has a balanced ph and is free of chemicals such as chlorine.
Installation and where its can be used
The system is easy to install; however, there are many factors to consider such as local rainfall, which based on the last 40 years of MET Office figures, the anticipated demand for water depending on application or the filter co-efficient.
A tank size to go with your property would be installed and it can be installed on the roof of any building.