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Plumbing is a crucial aspect of many home improvement projects, particularly if it involves a bathroom or kitchen remodel. Plumbing might first seem a reassuring, steadfast, unchanging industry that we rely on day-to-day, but your plumber is no longer just the person you rely on to fix leaks in emergencies. In truth, the plumbing industry has experienced many advancements over the past decade that can help your home become smarter, more efficient, and more environmentally friendly than ever before. Any plumber that has been part of the industry for the last decade will know just how useful the new advancements are to renters, homeowners, and businesses, and also to plumbers themselves.

When it comes to key plumbing trends of 2020, no list would be complete without a mention of the following advancements:

• Environmentally friendly plumbing
• Water consumption awareness
• Greywater recycling
• Water recycling dishwashers
• Voice-activated technology
• Smart-tech toilets
• Smart-tech showers
• Internet-enabled water heaters
• Tankless water heaters
• Solar-powered heating solutions
• WiFi-enabled water filtration
• Smart-tech sprinklers and irrigation

Environmentally Friendly Plumbing

Over the last ten years, advancements in technology have enabled eco-friendly plumbing practices to come to the forefront of plumbing technology advancements. More than ever, homeowners and business owners rely on their plumber to provide environmentally friendly plumbing solutions. Using recycled materials and eco-friendly materials to construct new plumbing elements is becoming more prevalent.

Additionally, offering technology that improves water efficiency and providing plumbing installations with reduced energy consumption are two ways that plumbers have used technological advancements to improve the overall eco-friendliness of your Arlington, TX, home over the last decade.

Water Consumption Awareness

As consumers are becoming more educated on the topic of climate change, many consumers are looking for ways that they can reduce their carbon footprint. The average family of four in America uses 300 gallons of water or more per day, equating to approximately 109,500 gallons of water per year. Considering these figures, finding ways to minimize water consumption has become a recent trend.

Something as simple as a continually running toilet can waste up to 200 gallons per day, which can be easily fixed by a professional plumber and result in the cutting of household water consumption by up to two-thirds. For homes with aging appliances and fixtures, making the switch to modern appliances can cut water consumption by 20% or more, according to a 2014 Government Accountability Report.

Water consumption awareness has led to more people switching to modern toilets and appliances, which waste less water with every use. Emerging trends such as greywater recycling solutions are growing in popularity and also designed to reduce water consumption.

Greywater Recycling

Greywater recycling allows homeowners to use less water at home by re-using water used in kitchens and bathrooms to perform alternative tasks such as watering the plants in the yard. Water from clothes-washing machines, bathtubs, showers, sinks, and other plumbing fixtures can be diverted for alternative use. Advancements in technology have made this water recycling technology highly supportive of the environment and cost-effective.

While government regulation regarding domestic greywater use for landscape irrigation is still developing, the trend continues to gain broader support in 2020 that is likely to continue for years to come. In Texas, there is no permit required to use a greywater system if the flow is less than 400 gallons per day, meaning many Arlington, TX, homeowners can benefit from this emerging trend. Your plumber can advise what activities you may be able to use greywater for, and help you to not only save water but energy and money. There are many benefits to this emerging technology, including reducing water diversion in sensitive ecosystems, potable water conservation, and providing a locally-controlled, dependable water supply.

Water Recycling Dishwashers

When choosing your next dishwashing appliance, an emerging trend in dishwasher purchasing indicates that more and more homeowners are opting for dishwashers that utilize water-saving and water-recycling features. Washing dishes can be tedious, particularly if you have a large family to clean up after. While dishwashers, in general, have become popular household staples over the last decade, technology advancements have made it so that it’s more common to see dishwashers that reuse their rinse water. A professional plumber can help you with choosing what is best for your family.

Dishwashers allow users to save on water bill expenses by utilizing as little water as possible and help the environment at the same time. Water usage can be reduced by approximately 2600 liters when using a dishwasher that reuses its rinse water. A plumber can help to fit your new dishwasher and often recommend preventative maintenance measures that can help your appliance to run as effectively as possible for as long as possible.

Voice-activated Technology

Voice-activated technology used to be something that you’d associate with only the rich and powerful. However, voice-activated technology has become much more mainstream over the last decade. Many large multinational tech companies have created affordable voice-activated technology such as the Google Assistant or Amazon’s Alexa that can be integrated relatively cheaply into Arlington, TX, homes.

The faucet in the kitchen is one of the most commonly used components of home plumbing systems, as it’s often used for washing dishes, vegetables, and hands. Since it’s often exposed to dirty hands, it can be awkward to keep clean. With the increase in the prevalence of voice-activated assistants, a growing number of plumbing fixture manufacturers choose to integrate smart assistant capabilities into their products. Voice-activated technology enables users to turn fixtures on and off, request changes in temperature, and even a specific quantity of water through the power of their voice.

Smart-tech Toilets

One smart home plumbing trend that your plumber will likely be familiar with is the variety of smart-tech toilets that are on the market today. New heights of sophistication have been achieved through merging traditional porcelain thrones with smart technology. Once considered a novelty, advanced toilets with automatic flushing capabilities, heated seats, and built-in lighting are becoming much more common in 2020.

Smart-tech Showers

Like advancements made in the smart-tech toilet market, plumbing advancements have also been made in the smart-tech shower department. Voice-control technology has been integrated into many shower models so that users can turn on, pause, and turn off the shower using a hands-free, voice-activated approach that reduces the need to touch showerheads and press buttons with dirty hands. Another emerging trend is the availability of voice control that enables users to choose specific water temperature and running water time frame, reducing the amount of wasted water in the average household.

Showerheads that utilize smart technology can also improve a boring shower routine. New showerheads can come equipped with Bluetooth connectivity, enabling users to connect music playing devices to a showerhead speaker. Other recent advancements in showerhead technology include the provision of LED lighting that can display different shades of light to change the ambiance in the bathroom as you shower or bathe.

Internet-enabled Water Heaters

One of the most integral parts of your home’s plumbing system is the water heater. Water heaters are in almost-constant use and depended on to complete laundry, dishwashing, taking showers, and baths. Water heaters can also consume more energy than all other household appliances, and with rising energy costs, more consumers are turning towards water heaters outfitted with smart technology.

Smart water heaters with internet connectivity are capable of quickly optimizing water temperature, and the connectivity means that alerts and error messages can be sent wirelessly to users when there’s an issue with a spill or a leak that needs to be attended to. Internet-enabled water heaters can cut down on the troubleshooting a plumber needs to do to find and fix a fault since the user-friendly app interface often provides diagnostic information.

Tankless Water Heaters

When looking at smart home plumbing trends, a tankless water heater may seem less exciting than modern internet-enabled plumbing systems. However, tankless water heaters have steadily replaced traditional water heating systems that rely on a tank of water. As technology has advanced, tankless water heating systems are more commonly installed by a plumber than a traditional water heater.

This seemingly innocuous upgrade to your home plumbing is faster and more efficient. They can produce hot water almost instantaneously, saving you money on energy bills as well as reducing water consumption as you’re not wasting running water while waiting for the water to get up to the required temperature. Tankless heaters have made life much more convenient for millions of homeowners. If you haven’t made the switch yet, your plumber can help you with recommendations, installation, maintenance, and repair. There’s no need to worry that this technology is not supported.

Solar-powered Heating Solutions

Another emerging trend is the growing preference for energy-efficient water heaters, including solar-powered versions that take advantage of the sunny Texas climate. As more homeowners invest in environmentally friendly heating alternatives, you can expect more solar-powered water heaters in use throughout 2020 and beyond. Solar-powered heaters have twin benefits; they save energy and lower the cost of heating bills. If you’re considering switching to solar power, get a local, trusted plumber to handle your installation.

WiFi-enabled Water Filtration

Another smart home plumbing trend that has become more prevalent in 2020 is the introduction of WiFi-enabled water filtration systems. Under-sink filtration is a common filtration method used in many TX homes, and advancements in technology mean more smart water filtration systems than ever are available. Whatever your reason for using a water filtration system, WiFi-enabled or Bluetooth-enabled filtration can help users to track and monitor water use, as well as stay on top of filter maintenance and replacement.

Smart-tech Sprinklers

When thinking about smart home plumbing trends, intelligent sprinkler systems deserve mention. Not only are plumbing fixtures in the home becoming more sophisticated and more efficient, but so are plumbing components outside the home. Smart sprinkler systems are rising in popularity, mostly because they can optimize dull tasks such as lawn watering.

Smart-tech built into new sprinkler systems of 2020 can establish and maintain automated watering schedules through voice-control technology, smartphone apps, and some can even adjust depending on local weather updates, soil conditions, and plants growing in the area. A plumber doesn’t only focus on the fixtures inside your home; they can also provide installation, maintenance, and repair of outdoor plumbing. We expect the increased unpredictability of weather patterns and improved smart technology functions to lead to an increase in the availability of smart-tech sprinkler systems.

Advanced Leak Detection Equipment

Understandably, leaks and floods are often a homeowner’s worst nightmare. Not only is a leak costly in terms of wasted water usage, but they can also cause irreparable damage to floors, walls, furniture, and other aspects of the plumbing system.

One method that homeowners can use to help prevent unfortunate occurrences such as leaks and floods include installing a smart water alarm system. These systems involve placing sensors near common leak sources, such as heaters, washing machines, and other fixtures that utilize a lot of water. When the sensor detects a water leak, an automatic shutdown is triggered, and a notification is sent to a smartphone, tablet, or another smart electronic device. Around-the-clock water monitoring systems can protect homes from catastrophic leaks and prevent unusually high water bills and give homeowners a better insight into their water usage statistics.

While beneficial to homeowners, water leak detection systems are also invaluable to your local plumber. Advanced technology hasn’t just reshaped the technology that you can now integrate into your home. It has also profoundly affected the plumbing industry, and how quickly and effectively that issues with your plumbing can be identified and dealt with.

Trenchless technology has become one of the most popular advancements used by your plumber since it offers a less-intrusive, cost-effective method of installing and repairing broken pipelines. Smaller opens at both ends of the pipe can be used rather than digging up large amounts of property. A plumber also more commonly utilizes various high-tech cameras, such as infrared and push rod cameras with HD-quality video, to locate the source of a leak.

If you’re looking to improve your Texas home’s plumbing systems by integrating smart technology, a Benjamin Franklin plumber can help. Our Arlington, TX, technicians are readily available, courteous, professional, and will always treat your queries, property, and family with respect. Call us to find out more about how to incorporate smart plumbing technology into your home.