Rainwater tanks are no longer just huge, round and ugly; they come in all shapes and sizes to suit the urban and suburban home. Watering the garden and washing the car with rainwater make sense and cuts your consumption of mains water making it FREE to use whenever you choose. But bigger savings can be made if you connect the tank to your laundry and toilet. Now with the Governments helpful rebates there are even more savings for you.
New Home Rainwater Tank Obligations
Since 1 July 2006 in South Australia building rules have required new dwellings (and some extensions or alterations) to have an additional water supply to supplement the mains water.
The additional water supply has to be plumbed to a toilet, to a water heater or to all cold water outlets in the laundry of a new home. The same rules will apply to new extensions or alterations where the area of the extension or alteration is greater than 50m2 and includes a toilet, water heater or laundry cold water outlet.
For more information visit http://www.planning.sa.gov.au/go/rainwater-tanks
Some things you may want to ask yourself before
installing a Rainwater Tank
How much space will I need for my rainwater tank?
The larger the space you have, the more options you have regarding size, shape etc. However if space is an issue there are still solutions for eg a slimline rainwater tank will be the perfect addition to your home and will still collect a lot of water.
What will the rainwater tank be used for?
You may want to use your rainwater tank for outside use (watering the garden, car washing etc) or for indoor use (washing machine, flushing the toilet) or even for both but once you have decided it will then help you decide on the size rainwater tank you will need.
What size tank do I need?
General recommendations are a minimum 2000L rainwater tank for toilet flushing and watering a small garden area and a minimum 5000L rainwater tank for domestic purposes (e.g. toilet flushing, washing clothes, watering gardens and car washing)
How much water can I catch?
An average house has a roof area of approximately 160 m2.
Assume that 50% of this roof area can be easily connected to a rainwater tank i.e. 80 m2
Each m2 of roof area collects 1L of water for every 1mm of rainfall received.
If you have 10 mms of rain the water collected by the tank is 800L (80 m2 x 10 mm = 800 L).
New Home Rainwater Tank Obligations
Since 1 July 2006 in South Australia building rules have required new dwellings (and some extensions or alterations) to have an additional water supply to supplement the mains water.
The additional water supply has to be plumbed to a toilet, to a water heater or to all cold water outlets in the laundry of a new home. The same rules will apply to new extensions or alterations where the area of the extension or alteration is greater than 50m2 and includes a toilet, water heater or laundry cold water outlet.
For more information visit http://www.planning.sa.gov.au/go/rainwater-tanks
Some things you may want to ask yourself before
installing a Rainwater Tank
How much space will I need for my rainwater tank?
The larger the space you have, the more options you have regarding size, shape etc. However if space is an issue there are still solutions for eg a slimline rainwater tank will be the perfect addition to your home and will still collect a lot of water.
What will the rainwater tank be used for?
You may want to use your rainwater tank for outside use (watering the garden, car washing etc) or for indoor use (washing machine, flushing the toilet) or even for both but once you have decided it will then help you decide on the size rainwater tank you will need.
What size tank do I need?
General recommendations are a minimum 2000L rainwater tank for toilet flushing and watering a small garden area and a minimum 5000L rainwater tank for domestic purposes (e.g. toilet flushing, washing clothes, watering gardens and car washing)
How much water can I catch?
An average house has a roof area of approximately 160 m2.
Assume that 50% of this roof area can be easily connected to a rainwater tank i.e. 80 m2
Each m2 of roof area collects 1L of water for every 1mm of rainfall received.
If you have 10 mms of rain the water collected by the tank is 800L (80 m2 x 10 mm = 800 L).
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RAIN WATER SOLUTIONS
HOUSEHOLDERS will have to find up to $600 more to meet soaring energy and water bills next year.
A significant portion of the spike in annual utility bills is the increase in the cost of water - almost $300 more a year for a family - to fund Adelaide's $1.83 billion desalination plant.
Adding to the burden on household budgets is a 20 per cent increase in water prices from June, 2011 - a mandatory rise to be repeated by the same amount over each of the following four years.
The Sunday Mail (SA) September 12, 2010
A significant portion of the spike in annual utility bills is the increase in the cost of water - almost $300 more a year for a family - to fund Adelaide's $1.83 billion desalination plant.
Adding to the burden on household budgets is a 20 per cent increase in water prices from June, 2011 - a mandatory rise to be repeated by the same amount over each of the following four years.
The Sunday Mail (SA) September 12, 2010
There is no higher quality source of water available to us than rainwater. Unlike water captured in dams which requires an extensive treatment process to ensure a quality fit for human consumption, rainwater that is collected on roofs and stored appropriately represents a sustainable source of water ideal for use inside and outside the home.
By using rainwater for toilet flushing, laundry and garden use alone, it can reduce mains water requirements of a typical household by 70%. If hot water systems are supplied with rain water, this reduction can be as high as 85%!
Call Greener Housing Solutions now for your obligation FREE quote and friendly expert advice.
By using rainwater for toilet flushing, laundry and garden use alone, it can reduce mains water requirements of a typical household by 70%. If hot water systems are supplied with rain water, this reduction can be as high as 85%!
Call Greener Housing Solutions now for your obligation FREE quote and friendly expert advice.
Power and water costs to rise $600
RAINWATER BENEFITS FOR THE GARDEN
Rainwater has a lot of dissolved nitrogen in it. Nitrogen is a very important mineral for plants because it is involved in many physiological processes within the plant. Nitrogen gets into rain droplets in the atmosphere, every time lightning sears through the air and water vapours. Lightning brings about a reaction of nitrogen with water, resulting in a weak acid. This is very important for plants because they cannot take nitrogen from air but depend on the soil.
Rainwater has a lot of dissolved nitrogen in it. Nitrogen is a very important mineral for plants because it is involved in many physiological processes within the plant. Nitrogen gets into rain droplets in the atmosphere, every time lightning sears through the air and water vapours. Lightning brings about a reaction of nitrogen with water, resulting in a weak acid. This is very important for plants because they cannot take nitrogen from air but depend on the soil.
