MetaEfficient Reviews » Toilets

A Metaefficient Bathroom – Environmentally Friendly And Functional

benjamin — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 20:17:40 +0000

A Metaefficient Bathroom – Environmentally Friendly And Functional

A bathroom may be one of the smallest rooms of a home, but make no mistake – it’s a vital one. Whether you’re building a new home or renovating an existing one, integrating efficient components into a bathroom will add convenience and improve functionality, and also minimize the environmental impact of energy and water consumption.

When considering each individual component of a truly efficient bathroom, remember that how an item is produced is important as well as its design. And a product’s lifecycle is always a key consideration, since a long-lasting item saves the need for a new purchase and keeps the old out of the waste stream.

After scouring user reviews and comparing countless features and designs, we’ve compiled the following list of standout products. Here are some of the most innovative and promising components on the market for putting together a “meta-efficient dream bathroom”.

Caroma Caravelle Dual-Flush Toilet

Toilets can be real water-hogs, often consuming far more water than is really needed for waste disposal – in fact, older designs can send up to seven gallons of water down the drain with every flush. Low-flow toilets typically use just 1.6 gallons per flush, and their performance has improved dramatically since water-conserving designs were mandated in the 1990’s. Dual-flush toilets are an even more efficient solution, since flushing liquid waste actually requires very little water.

Why It Was Chosen:
The EPA “WaterSense” rated Caroma Caravelle is one of the best dual-flush designs available. Caroma has produced dual-flush toilets for years in its home country of Australia, where water restrictions are a part of everyday life. The Caravelle uses a mere 0.8 gallons per flush for liquids, or 1.6 gallons for solids, while still performing just as well as many older high-flow designs. The water saved is an double environmental advantage, since both freshwater consumption and wastewater treatment are reduced, and utility savings can add up to $100 per year for homeowners in water-restricted areas.

You can find the Caroma Caravelle Dual-Flush Toilet for around $352 at Amazon.

Delta Water Amplifying Low-Flow Showerhead

Showerheads are certainly a matter of personal preference. But regardless of the style you choose, make sure to look for a low-flow design (generally less than two gallons per minute). The newest designs can amplify low water pressure and provide a more powerful spray, while using far less water than older styles.

Delta Water Amplifying Low-Flow Showerhead

Why It Was Chosen:
Thanks to its aerating “H2O Kinetic Technology”, the Delta Water Amplifying Low-Flow Showerhead still provides solid water pressure in its 1.85 gallon-per-minute low-flow mode. It minimizes unnecessary water waste with normal use, but a control allows the user to switch to a high-flow rate if necessary. It features a self-cleaning design to avoid clogging, and its classic styling will match almost any bathroom style.

The Delta Water Amplifying Low-Flow Showerhead is available at Amazon for about $30.

Pedal Works Hands-Free Faucet Controller

There are countless faucet designs to match any bathroom, but regardless of the style you choose, adding a faucet foot pedal to control water flow will drastically cut water waste while adding convenience. Your sink will stay cleaner since you don’t need to touch the handles with dirty hands, and you’ll avoid wasting water during tasks like shaving or brushing your teeth.

Why It Was Chosen:
The Pedal Works Hands-Free Faucet Controller works in conjunction with your existing faucet. A user simply sets the handles for the water temperature needed, and controls the stream using the floor-level pedal. A toe latch provides continuous flow if desired, and allows normal hand control of the faucet too.

The Pedal Works Faucet Controller isn’t cheap, but over time it will save money by preventing water waste. Available for $349 at Amazon.

EnviroGLAS Recycled-Glass Terazzo Countertop

Solid surface countertops have become much more popular in recent years compared to laminate styles. If you decide on a solid countertop design, be sure to pick a material that minimizes the potential drawbacks of high maintenance, toxic composite resins, and high embodied-energy content from transportation or raw material usage.

Why It Was Chosen:
EnviroGLAS creates terrazzo-style countertops from 100% recycled glass and porcelain, bound with resins that produce no volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The material is durable and low-maintenance too, requiring no waxes or harsh cleaners.

Prices vary depending on specific color and material choices. Learn more at the EnviroGLAS website.

Kohler Steward S Waterless Urinal

Fair enough, not all homeowners have the space (or desire) to integrate a urinal into a personal bathroom. But a waterless urinal can slash water consumption while adding convenience for male members of a household, elevating it beyond some sort of “man cave” novelty.

Why It Was Chosen:
The Kohler Steward S Waterless Urinal completely eliminates unnecessary water waste, making it even more efficient than a dual-flush toilet and earning “water efficiency” points toward a LEED rating. Its odor-minimizing, splash-resistant design reduces the need for maintenance, saving on time and the use of cleaners. And its modern but understated design maintains an aesthetic that’s still appropriate for home décor.

The Kohler Steward S Waterless Urinal retails for a hefty $532, but you can find it at Amazon for around $367.

C. Crane Geobulb 3 LED Lightbulb (Warm White)

Vanity lighting is admittedly an area where personal preference will dictate the types of lights you install. LED bulbs may not work for all applications in a bathroom setting, but they’re definitely worth considering for vanities and “open can” recessed lighting fixtures. The initial cost is a bit steep, but they use even less power than their compact fluorescent counterparts, plus they last far longer and contain no mercury.

Why It Was Chosen:
Some LED bulbs have struggled to match the brightness of incandescents or even fluorescents, but one of the best incandescent-replacement LED bulbs available is the Geobulb 3 from C. Crane. It uses just 7 watts of power to produce 520 lumens, matching the overall light output of a 50-60 watt incandescent bulb. And because of the directional nature of LEDs, the Geobulb 3 produces more light from the top of the bulb, so it’s especially well suited for use in open mounted fixtures as opposed to shaded lamps. The Geobulb 3 is rated for a 50,000-hour lifespan, and it’s also available in “Soft White” and “Cool White” styles.

The C. Crane Geobulb 3 LED Lightbulb is available at Amazon for $69.95.

Have you included any of these items in your own bathroom design? Or have you tried others that you are especially pleased with? Leave a comment and let us know!

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Office Building Is 100% Sewer-Free

Justin — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 19:32:04 +0000

The sewer systems we use today are entirely ineffectual and unnecessary. The primary flaw in our design is that we use fresh water to dispose of feces. This is perhaps the most ineffectual thing to do with human manure — it pollutes fresh water, and it requires municipalities to maintain extremely costly sewage treatment infrastructures. Even after treatment, sewage can still wreck havoc on rivers and groundwater. (more…)

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Now Available: Very Efficient: Toilet Lid Sinks

Justin — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 20:07:09 +0000

These sinks are finally available in the U.S. They sit atop your toilet and replace the lid. When you flush the toilet, the clean water that would go straight down the toilet is first routed up through a spigot to dispense pure water for hand washing. The sink shut off automatically when the toilet has been filled. It saves on water and space too.

It’s available from Amazon for $89.

Found via: Cool Tools

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Bidet Seats: More Efficient Than Toilet Paper

Justin — Fri, 09 Dec 2005 02:29:18 +0000

Bidets are those devices that spray water (and sometimes air) on your posterior. They are more hygienic than toilet paper, and save you money in the long run.

Bidets are very popular in Japan and parts of Europe. You can actually install a “bidet seat” quite easily, in place of your existing toilet seat. Bidet seats attach to the existing water supply through a double adapter and a hose. Some seats are quite elaborate, featuring jets of heated air, remote controls and various water massage settings.

A while back, we recommended Terry Love’s toilet reviews. He also hosts a good overview of bidets (but no reviews unfortunately). He does recommend the Toto Chloe and the Biobidet however (see this short reply to a reader). I’ve used a very basic $70 Biobidet for a year now and it works fine, if you don’t mind cold water.

There’s also hand-held travel bidets available.

There’s also a book on bidets available — it explains the advantages of a bidet in detail and has many shopping tips. It’s priced at $7.95.

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The Best Low-Flow Toilets

Justin — Mon, 29 Aug 2005 23:32:58 +0000

Early on, low-flow toilets got a bad rap — and justifiably so — their flushing ability left a lot to be desired. But today there are many low-flow toilets on the market that work well. Terry Love is a plumber who reviews low-flow toilets. He takes his job seriously, installing some of the toilets his own home were he can test them in “real world” situations. He lists toilets that work just fine in spite of the current standards which allow for a maximum water usage of 1.6 gallons per flush (GPF). He says his favorite toilet is the UltraMax by Toto. Toto calls this a “G-Max” toilet (model number is MS854114S). Overall, Toto seems to be the low-flush brand of choice. You can see all the reviews on this page: Terry Love’s Consumer Toilet Reports

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Foam-Flush Toilets: Efficient

Justin — Sat, 04 Jun 2005 09:00:04 +0000

"Foam-Flush" toilets look and function much like conventional toilets. Using a mixture of biocompatible soap and water, the foam-flush toilet moves waste through a conventional 4″ pipe to the composting tank below. The foam mixture cleans the toilet bowl with every flush but uses only about 3 oz. of water, making it fully compatible with the composting process. Since the foam flush is using water to carry the waste, it is possible to have it offset from the compost system at up to 45 degrees, making the design much like it would be for a conventional toilet system. Clivus Multrum makes foam-flush toilets.

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Composting Toilets: Large Scale Systems

Justin — Thu, 13 Jan 2005 06:01:37 +0000

Composting toilets can be a practical solution even for large businesses. We recently visited the Philip Merrill Environment Center, which is the headquarters for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. It has a Platinum rating for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) from the U.S. Green Building Council.

After taking a tour of their offices (about a hundred people work there), we tried out their bathrooms, which looked like typical office facilities. The toilets however, are composting ones, so there is no water involved. If you look down the toilet, you see nothing but a pipe leading down into darkness. Designed by Clivus, the toilets emitted no odors — this was probably due to slight draft which was pulling air down into the pipe that lead to the compositing chamber twenty feet below. All odor was drawn away by this ventilation.

The composting toilets we featured previously on MetaEfficient were “cottage style”, meaning they were designed to be self-contained and built to serve a single bathroom. Also available are composting toilet systems which connect multiple bathroom areas into a single composting tank. For example, the Phoenix Composting System can handle daily usage by up to eight people in a household or business. The tanks are insulated, and have an efficient ventilation system with automatic controls over the downward movement of the composting pile.

EcoTech USA offers a “Carousel Composting Toilet System” which features four rotatable compost chambers. The compost container consists of an outer and an inner rotatable container. Excrement, paper and, if desired, organic kitchen wastes are disposed of into one chamber at a time. Liquid drains into the bottom of the outer container, where warmed air drawn into the container evaporates it. The resulting vacuum assures that no odor escapes into the room. When one chamber is full, the next one is turned into position, assuring that fresh waste does not disrupt the more advanced composting material.

Another option is to build your own composting toilet, more information about this can be found at the EcoWaters web site.

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Sun-Mar Toilets

Justin — Fri, 30 Jul 2004 01:47:13 +0000

Notes from Manufacturer:
The Sun-Mar’s unique patented Bio-Drum™ tumbler optimizes mixing, oxygenation
and moisture distribution. No other composting toilet includes a rotating drum.
Evaporation is optimized via large surface areas, heating evaporated surfaces,
and well-designed air flow. The finishing drawer collects compost from the Bio-Drum,
isolating it from new compost and allowing it to dry before removal.

Home Page: Sun-Mar
Price: $899-$1639 (Alternative
Energy Store)

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Biolet Toilets

Justin — Fri, 30 Jul 2004 01:46:30 +0000

Notes from Manufacturer:
BioLet composting toilets are efficient, compact
and reliable appliances which can be easily installed in any location.
All models are manufactured from durable, easy to clean ABS plastic and
non-corroding stainless steel and are backed by over 25 years of experience,
a three year limited warranty and toll free customer support.

Home Page: Biolet
Price: $1065-2000

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