Make Sense of WaterSense to Help Your Wallet and the Planet
Proper watering saves money, time, and precious natural resources. Did you know a faulty sprinkler can waste 25,000 gallons of water and add $280 to your water bill every season?
These figures come from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) WaterSense program. For more than 15 years, the program has been winning the battle against water waste.
Here’s what you need to know about setting up your home irrigation system to benefit from good WaterSense.
What Is the WaterSense Program?
WaterSense was established in 2006 to meet guidelines in the U.S. Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1992. EPA WaterSense certification means a product is designed to use at least 20% less water while reducing energy consumption.
When a company’s products have WaterSense certification, they save water and energy through superior design and performance. The EPA requires WaterSense products to “perform as well as or better than regular models.”
Across the U.S., WaterSense is making an enormously positive impact. It saves more than 1 trillion gallons of water every year that would otherwise be wasted.
Since 2006, WaterSense has helped U.S. homeowners save more than $170 billion on their home energy and water bills. The EPA estimates that the program has preserved 880 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, adding to the global mission of energy savings.
Money-Saving Rebates From WaterSense
The WaterSense program doesn’t directly provide discounts for homeowners who want to preserve water. Instead, it alerts you to rebate partners offering money back on water-efficient products.
Most WaterSense rebate partners are cities and districts that offer savings on water-efficient purchases. For example, if you live in Southern California, you can get a $80 rebate on a smart controller that costs under $100, reducing the price of your upgrade to just $20. Other areas may have similar rebates. Some retailers also have resources to help you find and apply for rebates. Both The Home Depot and Lowe’s have rebate centers.
The main types of products you can buy with WaterSense rebates are bathroom faucets, irrigation services, showerheads, soil moisture sensors, sprinkler bodies, tank and flushometer toilets, urinals, and weather-based irrigation controllers.
If you live in California, you’ll be happy to learn that 47 districts offer WaterSense rebates on a wide variety of home and business products. California is a nationwide leader in water preservation with a consistently high level of participation in the program.
Other areas that have received EPA honors for using WaterSense rebates include major cities in Georgia, Florida, Virginia, and Texas. Most—but not all—states include at least a few participating cities.
Below, you can learn more about how to identify WaterSense products, including highly water-efficient Rain Bird timers and sprinklers.
Look for the WaterSense Label
Here’s something important to know about WaterSense. More than 900 water control products sold in the U.S. meet the program’s standards, but participation in WaterSense is voluntary. Thousands more products don’t qualify.
Believe it or not, many types of yard watering products aren’t purpose-built for water preservation. Instead, they may focus on affordability or a type of custom irrigation that doesn’t align with the WaterSense vision of a sustainable future.
To select the best water-saving products, look for the WaterSense label showing the product’s EPA-approved status. You can also use the WaterSense product search online to check on a product’s water efficiency before you make a purchase.
Rain Bird WaterSense Options for Your Yard
Rain Bird is dedicated to making it easier to nourish your yard while saving water. Our WaterSense products include smart timers and lawn sprinklers, rotary and pressure-regulated stems (PRS) with exceptional performance and guaranteed efficient water use.
Smart Irrigation Controllers
The ARC Series irrigation controllers, including the ARC8 and ARC6 residential timers from Rain Bird, is simple approach to smart watering. These app-based watering timers help the average household save up to 30% more water, which exceeds the WaterSense baseline of 20% savings.
They’re not only sensible but also fun to use. Adjust your irrigation settings from your mobile device anytime from anywhere. Set a schedule for perfect watering without waste. You can also allow the controller to adjust automatically based on local weather forecasts and previous averages.
Pressure Regulated Sprays
Rain Bird’s 1800 Series Pressure Regulated Spray Heads provide a wide range of spraying options so you can select just the right pattern and pressure for your needs. The sprayers in this series are WaterSense certified with pressure regulators to enhance efficiency. These PRS nozzles maintain constant outlet pressure at 30 psi for the most efficient performance, minimizing unwanted misting and increasing watering uniformity across zones for greener results with less water. Imagine a lifetime of savings with an ultra-efficient sprayer like this.
Keep the WaterSense program in mind as you select the products you use to water your trees, bushes, flowers, and grass. As you can see, WaterSense just makes good sense.
