In today’s world, where we need to make more efficient use of resources, rainwater harvesting is a reasonable option to solve some water-related problems both on a domestic and industrial scale. They are widely used in homes, farms, public buildings such as schools, hospitals, and hotels, and many other facilities.

As urban life develops, the need for treated water increases, as do the costs. In urban water supply systems, all water has to be treated to obtain drinking water quality, but only 1% of the water consumption is used for drinking. In Ireland, the daily water consumption rate per person is 148 litres. However, only 67 liters of this are used for personal hygiene and food consumption. This means that approximately 80 liters of water per person per day does not need to be of high quality. For other purposes, such as watering plants, flushing toilets, cleaning or even washing cars, rainwater harvesting can be a good, economical and environmentally friendly solution.

What is the idea behind rainwater harvesting systems?

It is simply “collecting rainwater in a tank” in its traditional meaning. Today, rain collection systems are much more efficient with the addition of a couple of items, such as pressure vessels, pumps, and filters. A typical rainwater harvesting system has the following elements:

• Water collection surface: it is the main element where the water is collected, the starting point of the system.
• Channels: to transport water from the catchment surface to the storage tank.
• Filters: are used to filter particles in rainwater.
• Pumps and pressure vessels: to pressurize water and keep it pressurized.
• Water storage tank: it is the tank where ready-to-use water is stored.
• Piping system: to transport water to consumption points.

Although rainwater generally contains fewer minerals due to airborne contaminants that can dissolve in rainwater, collected rainwater must be further treated if it is intended to be used as drinking water.

How much can you save using rainwater harvesting systems?

The answer to this question depends on where you live, that is, how much rain falls annually, the area of ​​your water catchment surface, and your water consumption. However, to make a rough estimate, you can save EUR 1 per square meter of your horizontal water catchment area per year. Rainwater harvesting systems are considered to be high performing and generally pay for themselves within a few years. After that, the more it rains, the more you’ll save. On the other hand, if rainwater harvesting becomes more common, there will also be a reduction in national costs for water treatment. Therefore, it can be concluded that rainwater harvesting contributes not only to individual utility costs but also to national treatment costs, which is a cost element for taxpayers. At the moment, the average price of public water is less than EUR 2 per cubic meter, but it is estimated that it will increase to the European average, that is, approximately EUR 4. Studies show that €154 million could be saved in water treatment costs if all Irish households collected rainwater efficiently. These figures explicitly show the potential for rainwater harvesting to contribute to budgets at both individual and national levels.

Installation and Maintenance of rainwater harvesting systems

Rainwater harvesting systems should be installed by an experienced plumber. The systems are designed to occupy the minimum space especially in your garden. For this purpose, underground tanks are used. The piping system is connected to the intended points of use. The pressurization and pressure maintenance elements in the systems allow you to have a constant water pressure in your rainwater piping system. The elements of the rainwater harvesting system are made of durable materials and have a simple technical structure. These two features result in minimal maintenance requirements for the overall system. You may only need to clean the filters once in a while and infrequent maintenance may be required for the pumps.

If you want to start using free water, you can contact Futura Energy to find out about their rainwater harvesting solutions.