The Chilipepper is a small, powerful, micro-processor controlled pump that mounts under your sink. At the touch of a button your hot water is pumped rapidly to your sink or shower, without running any water down the drain, saving thousands of gallons of water per year! Inexpensive and easy to install.

Greywater is defined as wastewater from baths, showers, lavatories, and clothes washers (but not including kitchen sinks and dishwashers). In Montana, a new law now allows greywater to be collected and used for toilet flushing and below-ground landscape irrigation.

On-demand water heaters have no standby losses or storage tank insulation concerns, and some models have sealed combustion and no pilot lights.

In 1992, federal law mandated that new residentiaL toilets use no more than 1.6 gallons per flush. Toilet flushing is the largest single use of water in most residential buildings, accounting for up to 40% of residential use. Replacing older toilets offers major water savings. There are now pressure and vacuum-assisted flushing systems which offer better performance, and dual-flush toilets, popular overseas, and are increasingly common in the U.S. They save additional water by making two flushes available: standard flush for #2 and a lower-volume flush for #1.

The three major materials currently used in supply piping in North America are copper, chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC), and cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE or, more commonly, PEX). CPVC has toxic manufacturing intermediaries, requires the use of hazardous solvents for welding the joints, and can generate highly toxic dioxins in the case of accidental fire or improper incineration. Copper?s environmentally intensive extraction and manufacturing process make it an even worse performer in terms of life-cycle environmental and human health impacts, according to recent studies. In contrast, XLPE and Polypropylene (PP) are ?clean? hydrocarbons, provided harmful additives are not used for application-specific properties.

Most sanitary drain waste and vent (DWV) piping used today is made from PVC or ABS plastic. Both of these have toxic manufacturing intermediaries and require the use of hazardous solvents for welding the joints. Cast iron, the traditional DWV pipe material, has high recycled content, but the scrap metal is melted primarily with coke, and the toxic and carcinogenic emissions from coke manufacture makes cast iron worse than available plastic alternatives on a life-cycle basis. Vitrified clay pipe can be used in buildings as drain pipe but is more commonly used for larger-diameter sewage applications; although heavy and labor-intensive, vitrified clay is the most durable waste and sewage piping material. Finally, there are some polyolefin (polyethylene and polypropylene) plastic pipes that can be used for drainage and venting. If plastic piping products are being chosen, look for recycled content.