We are all familiar with touch-less faucets, which not only decrease infection rates but keep lazy people from letting the water run as they brush their teeth. Great idea, but an idea that requires electrical energy or a battery to run the infrared sensing device. Now Toto, the Japanese company that makes simple, elegant, and water-saving bathroom fixtures, has developed a touch-less faucet that also saves energy.

The EcoPower faucet contains a small turbine inside. The turbine, powered by the water running through the faucet, creates an electrical current that is stored in rechargable cells. The faucets supply the very energy they consume by using the flow of water to spin a high-efficiency turbine to both create and store power. Eco Power replenishes its charge with as few as 5 uses per day, and with as few as 10 uses a day, the backup battery itself is seldom used and can last up to 19 years. Elegant!

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About a decade ago, water conserving faucets and low-flow showerheads were the bane of contractors and homeowners alike. But over time, trial and error has led to better product design, education and installation. If your kitchen or bathroom faucet is fairly new, it will probably have an aerator in it. New faucets today typically have 2.2 gallons per minute (gpm) aerators, whereas conventional faucets typically use 4 gpm. If your faucets are more than ten years old, odds are they’re water hogs. Aerators provide a low-tech solution that not only make the flow more forceful, but provide more effective wetting and rinsing. Consider installing an aerator with a lower flow, such as 1.5, 1.0, or the lowest option available to date: .5 gpm.

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