WaterSense® Labeled Homes
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Source: Envision Charlotte (https://envisioncharlotte.com/water-waste-air/water/)
Why Choose WaterSense Labeled Homes
The WaterSense label for homes provides a whole-house approach to water efficiency. The programs
that certify homes through WaterSense address specific climate and market conditions by
encouraging system and design improvements in addition to efficient products and appliances. This
approach helps maximize savings and reduce costs for the builder, the homeowner, and the
community.
WaterSense labeled homes can achieve significantly more savings than homes with WaterSense
labeled plumbing products alone. Plus, WaterSense labeled homes carry the additional benefit of
being independently certified to ensure they are free of leaks and that products and systems are
properly installed to maximize savings.
Maximizing Water Savings With WaterSense Labeled Homes
The table on the next page illustrates the features that may be included under four scenarios in
Charlotte. This example uses a typical 2,400-square-foot home with an average-sized household
(2.61 occupants) on a 10,000-square-foot lot that includes 5,826 square feet of conventional,
irrigated turf (unless otherwise specified). Assumptions for a typical home are based on national
averages.
The baseline home includes products meeting federal efficiency standards and other features
typical of new construction. The home following the Mandatory Checklist for WaterSense
Labeled Homes includes WaterSense labeled toilets, faucets, and showerheads, but no additional
water-efficient features. The home meeting California standards is required to meet more rigorous
product efficiency criteria for certain plumbing and irrigation products. Finally, the example
WaterSense labeled home incorporates a variety of water-efficient indoor and outdoor features that
meet the water efficiency requirement for WaterSense labeled homes and result in substantially
more water savings.
This is just one example of a home that has earned the WaterSense label—other design
configurations could also meet the requirement. The example shows that improvements limited to
indoor water efficiency will not be sufficient to achieve the 30 percent threshold. The home will
generally need to focus on maximizing outdoor water savings (e.g., by reducing the irrigable
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landscape area, by reducing turf, and by installing a WaterSense labeled irrigation controller) to
ensure it is at least 30 percent more water-efficient than typical new construction.
Feature
Baseline Home
Home Meeting
WaterSense
Mandatory
Checklist
Home Meeting
California
Appliance
Efficiency
Standards*
Example WaterSense
Labeled Home in
Charlotte**
Toilets
1.6 gpf
1.28 gpf
1.28 gpf
1.28 gpf
Showerheads
2.5 gpm
2.0 gpm
1.8 gpm
1.8 gpm
Lavatory Faucets
2.2 gpm
1.5 gpm
1.2 gpm
1.2 gpm
Kitchen Faucets
2.2 gpm
2.2 gpm
1.8 gpm
1.8 gpm
Dishwashers
5.0 gpc
5.0 gpc
5.0 gpc
3.5 gpc
(ENERGY STAR)
Clothes Washers
6.5 IWF
6.5 IWF
6.5 IWF
4.3 IWF
(ENERGY STAR)
Hot Water Delivery
Standard
Standard
Standard
More efficient hot
water delivery
Landscape and
Irrigation
Turf irrigated
with standard
fixed spray
sprinklers and
timer-based
controller
Turf irrigated with
standard fixed
spray sprinklers
and timer-based
controller
Turf irrigated with
WaterSense labeled
spray sprinkler
bodies and timer-
based controller
20% less irrigable
landscape; 25% of
remaining landscape is
non-turf design with
pressure-
compensating drip
irrigation; turf irrigated
with WaterSense
labeled spray sprinkler
bodies; WaterSense
labeled irrigation
controller; rain sensor
Total Estimated
Annual Water Use
129,000 gallons
121,000 gallons
119,000 gallons
<90,000 gallons
Total Estimated
Annual Water and
Percent Savings
From Baseline
0 gallons
0% savings
8,000 gallons
3 to 8% savings
10,000 gallons
5 to 10% savings
>39,000 gallons
>30% savings
Feature meets federal
standard or common
construction practices
Feature meets
WaterSense or
ENERGY STAR criteria
Feature achieves greater efficiency
level than WaterSense product
specification criteria
gpf = gallons per flush; gpm = gallons per minute; gpc = gallons per cycle; IWF = integrated water factor
* For comparison, California product and appliance standards are considered the most efficient state
requirements.
** For example purposes only. Home could qualify with a different combination of features, and a different home
with these features is not guaranteed to achieve WaterSense certification.
Learn More
Interested in learning more about WaterSense and how it can benefit your community? Visit
www.epa.gov/watersense.
m* EPA-832-F-23-002J
PHONE (866) WTR-SENS (987-7367) WEBSITEwww.epa.gov/watersense EMAILwatersense@epa.gov ^53^ClTr\ July 2023
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