Econaur published in Best Collections, Blog, Natural Cleaners, Water Efficiency, Water Management

Sustainable Brand Story : Ekam Eco Solutions – Sustainable Solutions for Hygiene & Sanitation

Access to clean water and sanitation is integral in keeping public health intact. While India has made significant progress in this aspect with the implementation of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, there is still a long way to go. 

According to the National Statistical Office (NSO), around 29 percent of rural households in India do not have access to basic sanitation facilities. The availability of water is also a grave concern, especially during spells of drought. About 21 major cities across India, including Delhi, Bengaluru, and Chennai, are on the verge of running out of groundwater this year as per the Composite Water Management Index (CWMI) report released by the NITI Aayog. 

Intending to improve this situation, Uttam Banerjee, Sachin Joshi, and Dr VM Chariar started Ekam Eco Solutions in 2013. The startup not only focuses on building humane and hygienic sanitation systems but designs sustainable processes to employ them. Its line of products includes waterless urinals, natural cleaners, sewage care items, and food composting structures. 

“Unscientific waste disposal and inadequate sanitation facilities affect both the health of humans and the environment they live in. The intention behind starting Ekam was to safeguard the wellbeing of people at large, and at the same time, conserve all natural resources, including water,” says Uttam Banerjee, Co-founder and CEO, Ekam Eco Solutions. 

NEW DELHI, INDIA – SEPTEMBER 24: Uttam Banerjee, director and CEO, Ekam Eco Solutions on September 24, 2014 in New Delhi, India. Ekam Eco Solutions Ltd. is a social start-up which makes Zerodor, a technology related to waterless urinals. (Photo by Pradeep Gaur/Mint via Getty Images)

Sowing the seeds 

The idea of establishing Ekam goes back to when Uttam was pursuing his master’s degree in industrial design at IIT-Delhi. Coming from the city of Bokaro, Jharkhand, the 35-year-old was used to living around a lot of water bodies and greenery. However, when he moved to Delhi-NCR, he felt anguished to observe the degraded state of the environment around him, especially the state of the river Yamuna. 

“When I noticed the toxic froth floating on the river, I could not help but do some research to find out the reason behind it. And, that was when I found out that several drainage lines were leading into the water, with only five percent of the sewage being treated. I wanted to do something to improve the state of sanitation so that such eventualities never arise,” Uttam recalls.

Zerodor is an attempt to recover urine and feces in pure form so that it does not pollute the soil and water and can be converted into useful fertilizer. The only way you can do this is to avoid flushing the pans. The initial iterations revolved around both urine and feces which evolved into a waterless urinal for men and women.

Solutions offered at Zerodor

1. Zerodor Waterless Urinals: A cost-effective waterless urinal without having any consumables (no recurring costs) can greatly impact the water consumption in urban areas. The designed product can save over 1.5 Lakh liters of fresh water in one urinal pan in a year. The amount that is currently wasted in a single urinal for flushing can support the drinking water need of 14 families for over a year. (http://ekameco.com/zerodor-waterless-urinals/ )

2. Care Organic House Keeping Solutions and Odor removal systems: Care is a range of organic solutions with wide range of applications ranging from cleaning of floors, bathrooms to washing clothes and utensils. Care also has room fresheners which are nonallergic are very effective on bad odors. (http://ekameco.com/care-organic-solutions/ )

3. Care Sludge Management Solutions: Care also offers solutions to manage the fecal/organic sludge in the septic tanks as well as large STP. These solutions are free from chemicals and are completely natural. The sludge is digested in a span of 8–72 hours and converted into nutrient-rich water which can be used for gardening, farming or even flushing. (http://ekameco.com/care-organic-solutions/ )

The day at Zerodor

Happy, Energized and Motivated. Being in a small organization, you always have limited resources and that is when all your creative juices start flowing in to get your work done with the limited resource that you have. All of us in the team handle multiple portfolios and are always excited every day. Every day is a great learning process.

Creating greener spaces

In the last seven years, Ekam Eco Solutions has contributed a great deal to the environment through its eco-friendly offerings. Having sold about 12,000 units of waterless urinal systems, kiosks, and many more of its other sewer treatment products, it has helped save one billion litres of water. Further, it has been diverting at least four tonnes of waste away from landfills every day. 

Ekam Eco Solutions

The team of Ekam Eco Solutions.

The Naval Base at Chilka in Odisha, the Eastern Naval Command at Visakhapatnam, INS Sardar Patel at Porbandar in Gujarat, and the Indian Railways also form part of Ekam’s customer base. The startup has been setting up urinals and composting systems in these institutions for quite some time now. 

Rashmi Singh, a 46-year-old retired naval officer, who has been using Ekam’s products, says,

“I have been buying a range of cleaning solutions from the startup after a friend of mine recommended it to me. Just the fact that they all are chemical-free and tend to keep natural resources intact motivated me to use them. Besides, they cost almost the same as other conventional cleaners.”

The Delhi-based startup is planning to expand its endeavor of providing affordable and environment-friendly sanitation systems by reaching out to more geographies in the future. It is also exploring solutions to knock out the usage of plastic in its packaging by collaborating with rePurpose, a global campaign focused on offsetting plastic footprints.

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Econaur published in Best Collections, Blog, Energy Efficiency, Water Efficiency, Water Management

Role Of Energy Efficient Pumps in making Sustainable Economy

Water pumps are responsible for heating and cooling in buildings, treating and distributing water, and generating power, that are often overlooked in conversations around smart or sustainable cities.

The network of water supply pipelines is one of the critical infrastructure needs for any city. Taking water to every corner of the city is one of the important roles for any municipal authority. Unfortunately the cities are losing up to 60% of pumped water due to poorly managed water networks. A total of 80% of all wastewater returns to nature without being properly treated. This has further led to modern challenges in the form of huge capital requirements, providing adequate inter-state transmission system (ISTS), distribution infrastructure and developing suitable land resources. But if we begin to use the same water multiple times, with appropriate treatment processes and the implementation of intelligent water solutions, we can transform and evolve at a faster pace where resources can be managed efficiently.

Water and Energy are Corelated Recourses

Water and energy are fundamental components for all human needs and they are co-related. Just how producing energy consumes water, treating and distributing water also requires energy. Water is used in all phases of energy production and electricity generation for various purposes at different stages. Energy is required to extract, convey, and deliver water for diverse human uses, and then again to treat wastewater prior to their return to the environment. Several current trends are further increasing the urgency to address the water-energy nexus in an integrated and proactive way. First, climate change has already begun to affect precipitation and temperature patterns across the world. Second, world’s population is rapidly increasing and so is the urbanization which creates differentiated and heavy loads at different usage points. Third, the introduction of new technologies in the energy and the water domains could shift water and energy demands. Finally, developments in policies addressing water rights and water impacts of energy production are introducing additional incentives and challenges for decision making.

Integral part of Pumps in Water-Energy nexus

Water pumps are responsible for heating and cooling in buildings, treating and distributing water, and generating power, that is often overlooked in conversations around smart or sustainable cities. Intelligent water solutions can help reduce losses. Governments, development agencies and the private sectors are exploring and implementing solutions to improve access to, and sustainability of water.While other renewable energy options are being adopted, the private sector is showing a keen interest in developing efficient solar pumping solutions.

About 10% of the world’s electricity is consumed by pumps for various applications. It is vital to save energy with intelligent and smart water solutions and bring down the consumption of electricity to 5%. The agricultural sector alone consumes approximately 80 percent of total supply.The decentralized solar water networks could be the answer to both water and energy issues in rural communities.

Pumps running on Renewable-energy

As the world envisions to move towards a greener economy, it is critical that we all start working towards a sustainable plan that would jumpstart the future. To address the growing energy needs and to reduce carbon emission, the Indian government has reimagined the national energy supply and demand management with a higher focus on solar. This was evident in the recent Union budget; several incentives and schemes were introduced for farmers. The government has set a goal to reduce its current dependency on fossil fuel by 40%, which highlights the commitments made in solar energy as a source for the long-term.

With a rejuvenated outlook on renewable energy from the government and private stakeholders in terms of investment and initiatives, the solar pump industry is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 27% during the period 2018-2024. Technological innovation and product democratization will determine the future of this industry. The Solar pump schemes via the flagship Government program PM KUSUM in the Agri sector and the Jal Jeevan mission for the piped water supply in rural communities is bound to drive the demand for solar pumps over the next four years.

Considering India’s tropical nature, solar pumps can be employed to provide a reliable water supply for irrigation, drinking water and ancillary activities in such remote locations. Dependence on grid-based electricity consumption can be brought down with the intervention of solar pumps, inadvertently leading to a sustainable option for the farmers and rural communities across the country. This shift ensures in an increase in sustainability while improving cost and operational efficiency. Technology driven solar solutions ensure that farmers can operate these pumps without frequent downtime or maintenance requirements. With the right backup systems the farmer can use the energy for other purposes like lighting, cold storage etc., when the field doesn’t require water and hence the pumps need not run.

Digital transformation to drive smart pump industry

Innovative technologies have been making positive strides in the water industry – augmenting the existing water infrastructure as well as contributing in improving the water accessibility and recycling while simultaneously reducing consumption and wastage.

Increasing urbanization is contributing to significant amounts in terms of energy consumed — the global cooling demand alone has doubled in less than 20 years. This growth in energy consumption is a major driver of climate change. There are plenty of intelligent solutions available; with more energy efficient pump solutions, we can reduce CO2 emissions while optimizing energy consumption of the pumps used in the process of cooling in the buildings.

By deploying smart pumps, it becomes easier to understand the specific water requirement and thus save this critical resource water. In the agricultural sector, an IoT enabled pump can give farmers full control to operate the entire system from his mobile phone – set the quantity of water to be pumped and time of watering his field and also get a real-time report of the critical health parameters of the pump system.

For example, KSB Pumps with intelligent and smart technology has acted as a change agent. The solution enables real-time monitoring, remote control, system optimization, fault prediction and preventive maintenance to achieve highest level of performance and savings both in cost and energy. These smart pumps automate, understand the specific water requirement, optimize the entire system and thus save this critical resource.

Creating a circular economy

In order to utilize water efficiently, there need to be shift from a linear ‘use and dispose’ approach to a circular ‘use, treat and reuse’ approach. Water can be reused several times before it reaches its destination. For example, water used in showers and kitchens can be reused to water plants or wash cars thereby reducing freshwater usage.

Adoption of intelligent water solutions is leading us to use water efficiently, with a greater focus to avoid overusing water and energy.

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Econaur published in Blog, Water Efficiency

8 Sensible ways to save water at home !

At these turbulent times when our climate is on thin ice and water shortage plague the entire world, we need to do our best to conserve our most precious natural resource. One of the foremost important resources for the survival of not only humans but all beings and plants on our planet is water. Sadly, typical homeowners use more water than required and waste such a lot of it every single day.

If you’re trying to save lots of money on water bills, it makes much sense to seem at the ways to save water at home. Amazingly, there are some super easy ways to scale back water consumption; keep reading!

Sensible Ways To Save Water At Home

Ways To Save Water At Home

1. Be Mindful While Washing, Brushing And Showering

An average faucet lets out about 2.5 gallons of water per minute. This water oftentimes gets totally wasted, especially while you soap and scrub your hands and brush your teeth. So, make sure to turn your faucet off while you soap your hands and brush and leave it off until you’re ready to rinse. This will definitely save a few gallons of water. The same goes for showering. If you turn off the water while you soap your body and hair or shave, you can save as much as 10 gallons of water. You can also turn on a timer and cut your showers short—5 or 6 minutes are all you need for a refreshing morning shower.

2. Fix Your Leaks

Fixing leaky faucets and toilets is one of the first things you need to do to save some water. IT doesn’t matter how you do it – take a DIY route or hire a plumber either ways you can manage to fix these (usually) simple malfunctions. If your leaks aren’t noticeable, you might want to carry out a good inspection. Call a professional to check your lines and you’ll save both money and resources.

3. Upgrade Your Fixtures

One great way to save some water at home is to upgrade the fixtures you use every day. Some old faucets tend to use much more water than newer models, so you might want to ditch them for something newer. Plus, if your old hardware is damaged, you’re risking leaks and huge water waste and even damage, so grabbing something new might be your best bet.

4. Run Only Full Loads

This might be a tricky thing to pull off, but make your best to always run your washing machine and dishwasher only when they are full. Half-loads tend to waste gallons of water! Some new models of appliances have a half-load cycle, but you’ll still get to waste some precious resources.

Ways To Save Water At Home

5. Grab A Double Sink

If you don’t own a dishwasher, you can do what our grandmas used to do when washing dishes. Make smart use of your dual sink and instead of letting all the water run down the drain while you wash dishes, fill one side with hot water and soap and keep the other one filled with cool, clear water for rinsing. This way, you’ll get to reduce your water waste in half! If you don’t have a double sink, two large bowls, one for washing and one for rinsing, will suffice.

6. Reuse Gray Water

If you don’t want to send all that water down the drain after washing your clothes, you can re-route it and reuse this gray water for flushing the toilet or washing your car.

7. Turn To Xeriscaping Gardening

Let’s face it, lush green gardens demand a lot of irrigation, but these are important to eradicate pollution and clean the air. You can turn to a gorgeous xeriscaping garden which uses plants that are immune to droughts. If you wish to retain some part of your lawn, make sure to water it in the morning or evening to reduce water evaporation.

8. Collect Rainwater

If you install a rainwater harvesting barrel in your garden, you’ll get to catch plenty of reusable water. This rainwater can be stored until you need it for watering plants, washing your car or even bathing your pooch (if the water is fresh).

Over To You!

In most homes, the bathroom is where the vast majority of water is consumed. The kitchen generally follows quite closely, with the laundry room a distant third. In each of these rooms, there are several ways to save water at home, and many devices and appliances which can support your mission to curb your water usage. For now, you can begin with these tips.

Source – www.gosmartbricks.com

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Econaur published in Best Collections, Blog, Water Efficiency

PM Modi calls for 100 day Campaign for water conservation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said there was a need to start conserving water right away and that the Jal Shakti Ministry would be launching a 100-day “catch the rain” campaign soon right from 1st March 2021 onwards.

Mr. Modi was speaking during his monthly radio address, Mann Ki Baat, when he said there was a need to have collective responsibility with regard to water conservation.

“In most parts of India, rainfall begins in May-June. Can we right away start a 100-day campaign for the sake of cleaning up water sources around us and conserving rainwater? With this very thought in mind, in a few days from now, Jal Shakti Abhiyan ‘catch the rain’ is being initiated by the Jal Shakti Ministry,” he said, according to the English translation of his address provided by the government.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said there was a need to start conserving water right away and that the Jal Shakti Ministry would be launching a 100-day “catch the rain” campaign soon.

In this regard, the Union Jal Shakti Ministry is also launching “Catch the rain” campaign and its main theme is “catch the rain, where it falls, when it falls”, he said.

“This is the best time to think about water conservation in the summer months ahead,” Modi said.

Let’s work together in this regard and support in water conservation & harvesting and prepare ourselves for the Extreme summer and then harvest the water during the Monsoon season.

To know more about water efficiency products check here – https://econaur.com/product-category/water-efficiency/

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Econaur published in Water Efficiency

Need to reduce water use in Construction

Water scarcity issues are not new in India. Per capita water availability less than 1,700 cubic metre is considered water stressed and the present number in India is 1,545 cubic metre. Water resources ministry predicts water availability could plunge to 1,341 cubic metres in 2025 and as low as 1,140 by 2050. This scenario mirrors water-scarcity condition where per-person availability is less than 1,000 cubic metres. Different states in the country have been hit by severe drought conditions from time to time affecting people, agriculture, livestock etc. This time the 5 states in South India, namely Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have been victims of severe water crisis.

Source: LiveMint, Business Standard

Water levels in dams have hit dead storage levels, large water reservoirs have dried up, 75% or more small irrigation tanks have dried up and underground water levels have reached all time low in the states. There has been less rainfall by almost 40-70% in these states leading to drought like conditions. Farmlands have become parched due to lack of rainfall and water. Agriculture is hampered gravely causing farmers to resort to suicide. Cattle and other livestock are suffering. On the whole the situations in the states are dire.

Impact of water crisis on the construction industry in South India

Scarcity of water has hampered all industries in South India in some way or the other and this includes the construction industry as well. Water is needed in large amounts in the construction industry for various purposes. Right in the beginning, water is needed to mix mortar, sand and other raw ingredients that are needed in the construction work. To make the plaster and construction strong and solid, water is sprayed on the built surface in abundance so that mortar absorbs the same and makes it tougher. Gallons of water are needed for the same depending on the volume of the construction project.

Reducing water consumption and improving water efficiency in buildings is a major step towards sustainable water management

As per one on the research report, presents two tables after their survey- one that assesses the embodied water of the materials used in the building and the second assesses the amount of water used during the construction process.

Trying a different product in the construction industry instead of mortar

With severe scarcity of water in the South Indian states, carrying out the above mentioned construction processes is next to impossible. How about trying something different for the construction industry so that the whole work gets completed without use of water? Instead of using mortar between the bricks for keeping them together, how about using a kind of strong adhesive that will do the work of the mortar?

A new product has been launched in the market by the name of ‘Dryfix’. This product is nothing but strong glue, which will work as an alternative for mortar. When applied in between two bricks, they will stick to one another. It will have the same function as that of mortar, but with lesser hassles. More importantly, it will be possible to save great volumes of water by using this product. Moreover, the adhesive is environment-friendly and sustainable solution, without using single drop of water in construction. This product can become an integral part of sustainable construction practices in the country.

Along with saving water, ‘Dryfix’ is easy to use. It just needs to be applied on the surfaces between two bricks and that is all that needs to be done. No separate mixture needs to be created; there are no chances of debris or other particles falling on the ground during construction work and no additional labor of cleaning up the place after construction work is completed for the day. With such easy and hassle-free application, the speed of construction work also gets boosted leading to quick completion of a construction project.

Water conservation – preserving water and using it during crisis times

The invention of ‘Dryfix’ can solve the problem of water crisis in the construction industry for sure, but for other industries water is inevitable. Therefore it is important that people know effective ways of water conservation. Interestingly, the process of water conservation can begin from the home and then can be extended to the neighborhood, to the workplace and so on. With more numbers of people getting involved in the process of water conservation, the results are definitely going to get better with each passing day.

Water is mandatory for agriculture and there are many water conservation techniques that are followed by farmers for irrigation. Farmers in India use billion gallons of water every day for irrigation, aquaculture and livestock care. With dire scarcity of water, managing the whole thing will be difficult and become impossible after a point of time.

If common people start conserving water in the small ways they can in their homes and workplaces, it will be possible to save lots of water on the long run. And this conserved water can be used in various ways during crisis situations. The Indian government and respective state governments have also taken great measures towards conserving water. Large tanks, dams, lakes and reservoirs have been built where water can be stored and used for various works. In case of water scarcity or drought conditions, water from the reservoirs can be used. But the reservoirs and tanks have fixed capacity. As soon as water levels come down in the tanks and reservoirs, they should be replenished when water is available.

With appropriate water conservation methods, it is definitely possible to combat possible drought conditions.
Some of the Sustainable Products For our daily need

  • Zerodor:-Zerodor is a revolutionary waterless urinal technology which can save over 151000 liters of water per year per urinal. That is one whole year of 14 families getting access to water.
  • Dual Thread Aerator:- With 3 LPM straight shower flow aerator you save water and reduce the water bills.
  • SandFree:- Perlcon Sand free Plaster is a unique cement-based formulation developed specifically to overcome sand related problems like availability, quality, labor, and time.

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Econaur published in Blog, Water Efficiency

Benefits of Waterless urinals over traditional urinals!

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Saving of Water is not only required the need for Humans. But by saving water resources we are also helping the Wildlife and the Ecosystem near us to Develop.

Waterless urinals are the urinals which does not consume water and are water efficient

Water Savings. Toilets and urinals account for about half of a typical building’s water consumption. In the United States, almost five billion gallons of water are used every day to flush urinals and toilets, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Conventional flush-type urinals use about one to five gallons per flush, depending on their age. Because no-flush urinals use no water, one to five gallons of water is saved with each use.

Low Maintenance. Waterless urinals generally require little maintenance. The absence of a flush valve eliminates valve repairs and reduces opportunities for tampering. Additionally, overflow due to clogged drains and vandalism is not a problem because large amounts of water are not being flushed. According to the manufacturers, drain lines on waterless urinals are less susceptible to clogging as the mixture of water and urine, absent with no-flush urinals, causes encrustations to form in the pipes. Occasional flushing with a few gallons of water is recommended to keep lines clean.

Improved Hygiene. Many people think that urine is an unclean substance. However, it is generally a sanitary liquid, composed mainly of dissolved metabolic waste and excess water. Urine normally does not contain harmful microorganisms unless the person is harboring some type of urinary tract infection.

Water used by conventional urinals gives germs in the restroom the moist environment they need to grow. Manufacturers design waterless urinals to remain dry.

This makes them hostile to bacteria and viruses. Also, flushing tends to send these microbes airborne, spreading them throughout the restroom. In addition, because there is no handle, no-flush urinals are touch-free, reducing the spread of communicable diseases.

Mr. Sachin Joshi, Co-founder of Ekam Eco Solutions says “Waterless urinals would result in a significant improvement in public restroom hygiene in India”

Odor Control. The absence of a water-urine blend in the bowl lessens the prevalence of odors often associated with urinals, according to at least one manufacturer. { The sealant liquid filling the trap is designed to keep odors out of the restroom.

Environmental Friendliness. Waterless urinals contribute positively to the environment. First, the absence of water for flushing reduces the demand for water. Also, because no water goes down the drain, additional wastewater requiring treatment is not generated. Next, the special drain cartridges and inserts used in some models are recyclable. Finally, the sealant liquid composed of natural oils is biodegradable.

Rebates and Incentives. Some water utility companies offer rebates and incentive payments to owners installing waterless urinals. Payments range from a partial to full reimbursement for the cost of no-flush urinals.

Energy Reduction. Widespread use of waterless urinals could result in an overall reduction in energy use. Cities and other water supply agencies would not have to use energy to treat and pump as much water.

“Green Building” Credits. Many new construction projects are earning certification as “Green buildings” under the green building ratings program developed by the Indian Green Building Council. Installation of waterless urinals helps gain water conservation points.

User Acceptance. Some owners report initial reluctance on the part of users to psychologically accept waterless urinals. Two universities reported that signs posted near the urinals explaining how they work and why they were installed seemed to increase favorable responses.

Retrofits. When replacing conventional urinals, removal of flush valves and capping of water supply lines will be necessary. Some remodeling may be required to lower the drain lines where needed to bring the new waterless urinals to the proper mounting height.

Local Approval. Acceptance of no-flush urinals varies from city to city. However, acceptance of no-flush urinals is now ubiquitous throughout the country with only three states not yet having their plumbing codes changed.

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Econaur published in Best Collections, Blog, Water Efficiency

Let us check some Water Harvesting Methods from our Ancient Times !

India is home to 18 percent of the total world’s population, but it has access to only 4 percent of the world’s freshwater resources. Reports by the think-tank of the Indian government i.e. NITI Aayog states – India is facing the vilest water crisis in its history. This 2018 report predicts, 21 Indian cities, including major metros like Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Bangalore will run out of groundwater by 2020. This situation is extremely alarming, as 2020 is just a few months away.

The drought situation in few parts of the county, in times when good monsoon showers are expected mirrors clearly that waning climate change is all set to cause mayhem. By now, most of the parts of the country should have been experiencing good amounts of rainfall but the reality is far more disturbing. Severe drought threatens the country, and poor infrastructure is making it worse. But there are potential solutions one of which is ‘Catching the Rains’ with different types of rainwater harvesting systems.

Rainwater Harvesting – What Is It?

Rainwater harvesting is a technology used to collect, convey, and store rainwater from relatively clean surfaces like the roof, rock catchment, or land surface – essentially for later use. This collected rainwater is either directed to recharge groundwater or stored in a rainwater tank.

Rainwater harvesting isn’t some modern technology, it has been practiced for over 4,000 years throughout the world. Traditionally in arid and semi-arid areas, rainwater harvesting systems have provided water for domestic use, drinking, livestock, and small irrigation purposes. Today, rainwater harvesting is gathering a lot of significance as a modern, water-saving and simple technology.

Why Rainwater Harvesting?

In many regions across the globe, clean drinking water is not easily and readily available. For potable water, huge investment costs and expenditure is needed. Rainwater is one free water source and comparatively clean; with proper treatment, it can be used for several non-potable uses. Rainwater harvesting relieves the pressure on sewers and the environment by mitigating floods, soil erosions and replenishing groundwater levels; also it helps in saving the high-quality drinking water sources by reducing the consumption of potable water.

There are so many reasons why we should start collecting rainwater. From doing our part for the environment and saving money on water bills to having constant access to water – collecting rainwater can be beneficial in so many ways.

Read: Rain Water Harvesting – Why, Benefits, Techniques & More

7 Different Types Of Rainwater Harvesting Systems

Below mentioned are the different types of rainwater harvesting systems:

1. Water Butt

One of the most basic types of rainwater harvesting systems; water Butt collects rainwater in a container from natural rainfall and/or drain pipes. The collected water is used mainly for watering the garden.

2. Direct-Pumped

Another very common and professional type of rainwater harvesting.

  • Submersible – Used particularly in domestic settings and is the easiest systems to install. The pump is placed within the underground tank and the harvested water is pumped directly to WCs or other appliances used daily for domestic purposes.
  • Suction – In this system, the pump is located within the control unit of the house (e.g. utility room). This unit also deals with backup from the mains water supply, hence there is no need to direct mains water down to the underground tank.

Most rainwater harvesting systems need pumps to transfer the collected rainwater from storage tanks to the point of use. Submersible pumps are generally more efficient than suction pumps and do not suffer from the same limitations.

3. Indirect Pumped

This type of rainwater harvesting system doesn’t rely on gravity to supply water to the outlets. Instead, it pumps the harvested water to a tank which can be at any level in the building. Furthermore, a booster pump is used to provide a pressurized water supply. One of the most significant benefits of this system is that it offers great flexibility to tailor the booster pumps to adjust the flow and pressure requirements of a building.

4. Indirect Gravity

This system ensures water is supplied to the outlets by gravity alone. For this, the harvested water is first pumped to the header tank, i.e. high-level tank and then allowed to free-flow. In Indirect gravity systems, the pump works only to fill the header tank.

5. Gravity Only

In few conditions, a system which functions purely through gravity may be needed. Such systems do not demand pumps hence involves no energy use. With such an arrangement, water can be collected only when collection tanks are located below the level of gutters, yet higher than the outlets which it will supply. Here the only power of gravity is needed to feed collected and harvested water to various parts of the household. Gravity only is one of the most energy-efficient rainwater harvesting systems.

6. Retention Ponds

Retention ponds are used to collect surface runoff water and improve the quality of water by natural processes like sedimentation, decomposition, solar disinfection, and soil filtration. This type of pond normally has a mud bottom, but in some cases, it may be lined with concrete. The most common use of water collected and harvested by pond harvesting is watering livestock, however, it can also be used for groundwater recharge, irrigation or any other purpose other than potable uses.

7. In-Ground Storage

Underground storage tanks are very popular in areas where the majority of rainfall occurs in one single season. These underground tanks are insulated and have a very low rate of evaporation. In addition, the water stored in these doesn’t freeze if it is buried below the frost line, this is a huge advantage that surface storage tanks do not offer. Underground tanks need to be connected to an electric pump to ensure supply of the stored water to the outlets.

Rainwater Harvesting Is Crucial For The Future

It is the human’s unfriendly attitude towards nature which has poisoned our water-bodies and turned them unfit for any use. We are stretching our local water resources to provide for the exponential population growth and economic development. Turning to new water supply strategies and paradigms are indispensable to meet this demand.

Today most of the parts of the world are facing scarcity of water, taking up rainwater harvesting is necessary for survival. Natural resources come in abundance but they cannot be produced – attempts need to be made to collect and harvest it at an individual level.

But, you can save water in another way. use Water Saving Products of Eco 365. Explore a wide range of water-saving products.

Sustainable Water Saving Solutions

  • AIROXY – WATER SAVING SHOWER HEAD – AIROXY – WATER SAVING SHOWER HEAD (BLACK / BLUE), This water saving shower head can mix air with water to spray water effectively to maintain equivalent water pressure compared to regular shower heads.
  • DualThreadAerator :- With 3 LPM straight shower flow aerator you save water and reduce water bill.
  • Zerodor:-Zerodor is a revolutionary waterless urinal technology which can save over 151000 liters of water per year per urinal. That is one whole year of 14 families getting access to water.
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Econaur published in Water Efficiency

How aerators can help in saving the water ?

Water Aerators | Conserve water in a smoky way

Water aeration – brings water and air in close contact in order to remove dissolved gases such as carbon dioxide and oxidizes dissolved metals such as iron, hydrogen sulfide and volatile organic chemicals (VOC’s).

Aeration brings water and air in close contact by exposing drops or thin sheets of water to the air or by introducing small bubbles of air (the smaller the bubble the better), and letting them rise through the water.

Faucet Aerator – 

A Faucet Aerator or Tap Aerator is often found at the tip of modern indoor water faucets. Aerators reduce the water coming through the faucets by mixing it with water. The aerator acts as a sieve, sending a separating a single flow of water into many tiny streams.

There is less space for the water to flow through, the water flow is reduced. However, the water pressure is maintained.

Check Faucet Aerator by ECO 365

Function of Faucet Aerator – 

An aerator can –

  • Prevent splashing
  • Shape the water stream coming out of the faucet spout, to produce a straight and evenly pressured stream
  • Conserve water and reduce energy costs
  • Reduce faucet noise
  • Increase perceived water pressure
  • Provides slight filtration of debris due to a small sieve plate

Pond Aerator – 

Pond aeration is key for creating and maintaining the perfect pond.

Adding an aerator system to the pond or lake can provide many key benefits including increased fish activity and populations, clearer water conditions, reduced algae and muck, as well as preventing icing over of the pond during winter.

Pond Aeration is supplied by a pump that moves water throughout the pond and provides circulation. Aeration is improved even more when the water surface is broken by means of a waterfall or fountain.

Chemicals removed by Aeration – 

Constituents commonly affected by aeration are:

  • Volatile organic chemicals, such as benzene (found in gasoline), or trichloroethylene, dichloroethylene, and perchloroethylene (used in dry-cleaning or industrial processes)
  • Ammonia
  • Chlorine
  • Carbon dioxide
  • Hydrogen sulfide
  • Methane
  • Iron and Manganese

Advantages of using Aerators – 

  • Aerators are inexpensive and easy to use.
  • They come in varying abilities to control the flow.
  • Aerators can save you up to half of your water usage through faucets with aerators on them.
  • When you are using aerated water, you won’t notice a difference.
  • Estimates are that aerators can save you 280 gallons a month.
  • If you use less water, you will use less gas or oil to heat it. This means you will also see a savings on your heating bill.

Conclusion – So this is one of the most cost effective and energy effective manner in which we can conserve water. Also it’s quick and easy installation make this new tech product a must buy.

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Econaur published in Best Collections, Blog, Water Efficiency

Water Conservation Technique – Products that Reduce Water Use In Buildings

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Water is an indispensable resource but pressures on freshwater resources across the world are growing rapidly due to population growth, increased industrial activities, urbanization, and of course changing lifestyles. India like the other countries is severely in-immune to these water pressures, in fact, it wouldn’t be wrong to the say – Water pressures in our country is being felt much more rapidly than expected.

Bengaluru for example made to the news of turning the next Cape Town, to face the threat of running out of potable water by 2020. Developing parts of Bengaluru is now facing severe water pressure and receive less water per person. In fact, most of the new and upcoming apartments depend largely on tanker water for drinking and other use.

Water pressures and the dangers lack of adequate water of appropriate quality poses for people, industry, and ecosystems, have been time and again highlighted in several reports. However, the main aim behind highlighting the issues remain same – Water conservation is the need of the hour.

Water Conservation Techniques – 10 Products That Help!

Today much innovation has gone into creating and developing products which improve water efficiency in buildings.  With adoption of water conservation techniques being the strain of this blog, here are 10 innovative products which can help reduce water use in buildings.

1. Greywater Recycling Systems

The water used in most building structures is thought of in terms of clear clean water coming in, and sewage or black water going out. However, greywater is something that is in between that. In the domestic setting, greywater systems collect water from sources like baths, hand basins, and showers. This collected water is reused for washing machines, toilet flushing, and other external usages. The main idea behind greywater recovery is simply getting the most out of the water through its efficient reuse.

2. Rainwater Harvesting

Rainwater harvesting systems can vary from the basic small ones, like the attachment of a water butt to a rainwater down-pipe, to the complexly designed large ones like those which collect rainwater from large areas and serve momentous numbers of properties. When it comes to domestic purposes, these systems are relevant to both commercial and domestic properties. When collected, rainwater can be used for garden irrigation, toilet flushing, and even in washing machines.

3. Efficient Irrigation Technology

Beautiful lawns and gardens demand a significant amount of water for its maintenance. In addition to indoor fixtures, efficient outdoor irrigation technologies like smart irrigation controllers can help to save a lot of water. These controllers can effectively track factors like precipitation or temperature and avoid over-watering the properties landscaping or plantations. In addition to smart irrigation controllers, one can save even more by trading out spray sprinklers for drip irrigation. These sprinkles can deliver water to your plants directly as these can be buried under the lawn.

4. Water Meters

Water metering is a common term used by people when the discussion is around water conservation techniques. Water metering in simple terms is the process of measuring the water use in each residential apartment. Water meters are installed in each home of an apartment and these meters record the amount of water being used in a home for billing purpose or tracking consumption.

5. Pressure Reducing Valves

High water pressures waste a lot of water. Installing water pressure reducing valves turn out to be one great solution. These valves are can be used in residential, commercial, and institutional applications to lessen the incoming water pressure to a lower predetermined level. In this way, it protects the downstream plumbing system components as well as reduces the water consumption.

6. Insulated Pipes

Insulating all piping and storage tanks are important for any domestic hot water system today. Sadly, in most of the buildings, hot water return pipes are uninsulated or not insulated correctly. As a result, when hot water is needed, the user needs to wait at faucets or showers for the hot water to flow. This can result in significant wastage of water. When pipes are properly insulated it ensures hot water is immediately available and when the tap is closed it supplied back to the plant, consequently reducing the energy demand of the heating unit. With insulated pipes, the user is less likely to waste by waiting for it with the taps open.

7. Efficient Taps

Water-efficient taps work in two ways, they can either reduce the water flow rate through the tap or they can support the user to avoid wastage of water by automatically turning it off. These days sensor taps can be seen in almost every shopping mall or airports, these automatically sense the user’s activity based on which is supplies or turns off the water flow using infrared sensors.

8. Water-Saving Showers

Personal bathing accounts for a lot of water use within homes, hotels and other residential settings. Did you know, an average bath uses around 80 liters of water whereas a 5-minute shower at 10 liters per minute will use only 50 liters of water? Water-saving showerheads control the water flow rate and spray pattern of your shower. These are available in a good range of different shapes and sizes and their design can directly affect water consumption during bath.

9. Efficient Toilets

In 1995, The National Energy Policy Act mandated that all new toilets had to be low flow toilets using no more than 1.6 gallons per flush which were less than half the water used by toilets in the 1980s. Initial results were dissatisfactory but then came the pressure-assisted flushing. The principle of water-efficient toilet design and operation was the shift from removing waste by using flush water volume to increasing flush water velocity. With the limited supply and continuous waste of water resource, it is crucial that we wake up and use it wisely so that we can protect and preserve our environment, minimize the effects of drought and save energy and finally the water bills. Upgrading to low flow toilets can play a crucial role in reducing water footprint.

Water is a necessity; it is the fuel for life on earth. But, even when its supply may seem abundant, it’s not an infinite resource – Remember fresh potable water is scarce and that’s key to our very survival.

If we don’t acknowledge this fact and take it into consideration in designing and constructing; this vital supply of water can be in danger. We, as engineers, developers, and owners, play a crucial role in looking beyond our building budgets and codes to achieve higher levels of water efficiency. No doubt, new and innovative technologies which consume less water have become increasingly important. It’s our realization and common sense that can save our planet and ensure our future generations can enjoy the benefits of abundant freshwater.

Start using these water conservation techniques today! It’s over to the decision that we make now!

SAVE WATER WITH WATER SAVING PRODUCTS OF ECO 365.

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Econaur published in Blog, Water Efficiency, Water Management

Water Harvesting & Conservation techniques need to apply in buildings to make them more sustainable

water conservation HD picture

Fresh, clean water is a limited resource. While most of the planet is covered in water, it is salt water that can only be consumed by humans and other species after undergoing desalination, which is an expensive process. Occurrences such as droughts further limit access to clean and fresh water, meaning people need to take steps to reduce water use and save as much water as possible. In some areas of the world, access to water is limited due to contamination. People who have access to fresh water can take steps to limit their use of water to avoid waste.

The Why and How of Water Conservation

People should do their best to conserve water for three reasons. The less water used or wasted by people, the less clean water will become contaminated. In some cases, using excess amounts of water puts strain on septic and sewage systems, leading to contamination of groundwater, as untreated, dirty water seeps from the sewage system into the ground.

Water conservation reduces energy use and can even save households money. Most families pay to use water in their cities or regions. The less water a household uses, the less they have to pay each period. Appliances that use water, such as washing machines and dishwashers, also use a considerable amount of energy.

Conserving water now allows cities and regions to plan for more efficient use of the water resources in the future. If most of an area’s clean water is wasted, there will not be water for future generations to use, meaning the city will need to come up with new ways to produce clean, fresh water, which will ultimately be at the taxpayers’ expense.

What’s Water Harvesting?

Watering harvesting means capturing rain water, where it falls and capture the runoff from, catchment and streams etc. Generally, water harvesting is direct rainwater collection. This collected water could be stored for later use and recharged into the ground water again. Rain is primary water source lakes, ground water and rivers are the secondary water source.

Nowadays we totally depend on secondary water sources, we just forget that rains are the source, which feeds all other secondary sources. So, water harvesting means we recognize the rain’ value and try to use the rain water, where it falls.

How can You Harvest Water

You can harvest rainwater at your home by the below mentioned method:

Capture runoff from rooftop

Do you have any idea? that about 60,000 gallons water runoff from your roofs and goes into street, streams and then in sea water. This water is getting cleaned, filtered and provided you on payment. Why don’t you eliminate this process? You just install water harvesting system in your home and use this runoff water.

Before you capture rainwater at your home successfully, keeping the following things in your mind:

How Much & Which Quality Water You Need

You need only a few litter water drink , drinking and cooking water must be potable, whereas, laundry water should be impurities less and gray water for growing vegetables and fruits.

How to Harvest Rain Water

Rainwater could be easily collected in plastic tanks. They are easy to install and handle. They are comparatively cheap from underground tanks, but definitely take up space. For harvesting rain water you first calculate the possible rain, you can do this by getting information from Meteorological Bureau of your area. They would give you information about the average rainfall during whole month.

For instance if you have 600mm rains every year and the area of your roof is 200 square meters, and you are interested to catch the whole area for one month storage. Your tank volume must be 10,000 liters. This quantity of water will give 10,000/30 about 33 liters water per day.

How Much Experience You Need

You all can do this work easily, without any kind of experience. You would be needed only a qualified electrician to fix the electrics and a plumber for sewage purpose. Of course, for working at heights and making connections one needs good safety practices.

Be Careful about the following things:

  1. Your water should not seep on the public roadway, or on the property of your neighbor.
  2. Water gets wasted by evaporation, so proper arrangement should be done.
  3. Regular maintenance is must.
  4. Never let the gutters block, leaf-guard is best, but it is expensive.
  5. In-line-leaf is good, but they need proper and regular cleaning.
  6. Your tank must be mosquito free.
  7. If you want to drink rain water, then, keep in mind that your roof should not be zinc-alum, because aluminum is dangerous for you.
  8. You should be aware of birds and animal droppings.
  9. It must be pollution free.

Benefits of Water Harvesting:

  1. It can be used for drinking.
  2. It could be utilized for irrigation purposes.
  3. This water increases the underwater level.
  4. It keeps you urban flood.
  5. Reduce sea water entrance in coastal areas.

Reference conserve energy !

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