Save money and the planet with these tips

You don’t have to build your own home or spend a fortune to live a little more sustainably.

Even if you’re renting there are a number of simple things you can do to reduce your water use and power consumption.

Saving water:

Saving water can be as simple as fixing leaking taps and collecting the cold water in a bucket while waiting for the warm water to come in, or as serious as installing a grey water system.

Water-saving taps and aerating tap filters quickly pay for themselves, while a rainwater tank can help keep the garden watered in summer.

Nearly half the water we use goes on our gardens so planting drought-resistant varieties of turf and native plants also helps.

Saving power:

From fitting compact fluorescent light bulbs to redeploying the old-fashioned door snake to keep out the draughts, it’s surprisingly easy to save power.

Appliances should be turned off at the wall, saving up to 5 per cent of the household energy used on standby power. [Read How to Save Energy by Eliminating Phantom Loads].

And, if you’re still keen, install a solar-powered water heater and let the sun do the work for you.

Reducing waste:

Australians are among the best recyclers in the world but we also produce more rubbish per person than any other nation except the US. Where possible, reduce, reuse and recycle.

Research suggests we can reduce the amount of waste going into landfill by 75 per cent just by composting, recycling, avoiding plastic bags, avoiding products that are over-packaged when we’re shopping, and simply buying less.

Source: excerpts from Liverpool Leader

Saving water and energy means saving money too!  Remember to re-use before you consider recycling; there is a difference between recycling and reusing. Water Rhapsody and Yes Solar Mpumalanga have joined so that we can offer water conservation systems and solar energy solutions to homeowners, businesses, schools, hospitals and lodges.  Our rainwater harvesting system will help to reduce or eliminate dependence on Main water supply.  Rainwater tanks for water storage are incorporated into our rainwater harvesting system.  Our gray water recycling systems ensure that your garden is always irrigated with nutrient-rich greywater.  We also offer a greywater toilet flushing system (why use drinking water to flush the toilet!?).  Combined, our water systems can reduce your water bills by up to 90% (see product demo).  Yes Solar solar energy products include solar geysers that are SABS- and Eskom-approved.  Our solar energy products are made by Solsquare Solar Energy Solutions (Germany) and are fitted by qualified solar installers.  We als0 supply water tanks; we are JoJo Tanks dealers and Atlas Plastics suppliers in the Mpumalanga and Limpopo Lowveld (our water tank prices are hard to beat!).  We offer the full range of JoJo water tanks and water tank stands and Atlas water tanks.

Contact us for a free quote on a water system, water tank or solar geyser.