Sustainable Homes Day - make your home leaner and greener

The Australian and New Zealand Sustainable House Day (SHD) is being held this coming weekend, Sunday 9th September. SHD aims to educate home owner and builders on how they can create more sustainable homes by employing water saving and energy saving technologies.

On Sunday you will be able to take a tour of a sustainable home near you for the princely sum of $5 ($10 for families). So if you’re building a new home, or you’d like to green you current abode, check out the Sustainable Homes website for venue detail.

The water cost of producing daily consumables

Some interesting figures on the amount of water in takes to produce daily consumable items.  I’m naturally devastated  that two of my greatest gastronomical indulgences are on this list:

• Hamburger - 2,400 Litres
• Cotton T-shirt - 2,000 L
• Cup of coffee - 140 L
• Slice of bread - 90 L
• Glass of beer - 75 L

Source http://www.waterfootprint.org/

Rain Water Tank Level Monitor

You do have a water tank installed at your home don’t you?  Well if you don’t, get one, then get this nifty little wireless remote water level monitor from Rain Harvest.

The water sensor sits a-top your tank and uses ultrasonic radio waves, kind if like a fish finder I guess, to see how much water’s in your tank.  It transmits a signal back to the receiver plugged in to a power-point in the home to give you a water level reading.

Using Greywater On Your Garden

Care should be taken when diverting greywater from your bathroom and laundtry due to the chemicals contained in soaps and detergents. Sustainable Gardening Australia has some great tips and useful links for choosing the right detergent.