Trim the Fat Tuesday: The Faucet Aerator

That home energy assessment we had back in April is the gift that keeps on giving. In addition to the free light bulbs and the low-cost insulation, there was another conservation freebie. We're using it to

Save money on the utilities by installing faucet aerators.

This was extra cheap and easy because the guy from MassSave did it for us, and gave us the new aerator for free:


Our old faucet aerator allowed 2.2 gallons per minute, but the new one cuts that flow to 1.5 gallons per minute. This doesn't feel any different for the washing of hands, and it doesn't look any different, either:


Using less water here cuts costs in two ways. First, you save on the water and sewer bill itself. Second, you also save on the electricity used to heat the water. I found a handy online calculator to figure out exactly how much we'll be saving in the guest bath now, and it comes to about $30 per year.

Not bad for a freebie that required no actual effort on my part at all!

Savings per month: $2.50

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