A carbon footprint is the sum of greenhouse gasses, especially carbon dioxide produced as a result of our daily actions. These actions include burning oil or gas to heat our homes, burning petrol while driving, and using electricity produced from coal, oil, or natural gas.
Greenhouse gasses include carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, and nitrous oxide. They are not harmful in small quantities. In fact, we need them to keep the environment warm and conducive for living. But these days, greenhouse gasses have drastically increased in the atmosphere, making the environment increasingly hotter and uncomfortable.
Of all the gasses used to measure a carbon footprint, carbon dioxide is the most used because a lot of our activities lead to its release. It also remains in the atmosphere for an extended period.
You don’t immediately notice the effects of an increased carbon footprint, but considerable damage happens over time. A common effect of increased carbon in the atmosphere is extreme weather conditions that we now experience in some parts of the world. As the years go by, the weather will become harsher and more unbearable—if we don’t do something about it. Hot weather conditions also favor the spread of some diseases, which can remain present for years.
You can calculate your carbon footprint and understand just how much your daily activities affect the environment. After you’ve gotten a rough estimate of your carbon footprint, you might want to make necessary adjustments to your lifestyle and do your part to save the environment.
One way you can reduce your carbon footprint is by using point-of-entry water filters (POE) in your home. This article will fully explain what POE filters are and how installing a POE water filter system can help reduce your carbon footprint.
What Are POE Water Filters?
POE water filters are also called whole house water filters because they filter water from an entry point before distributing it to other outlets in the home. There are different types of POE water filters, and you can make your buying decision based on the nature of the contaminant you’re planning on removing. These water filters include:
1. Sediment Filters
Sediment filters remove suspended particles like clay, sand, rust and debris from your water. In general, they filter large bit and pieces, but cannot remove contaminants like chemicals and microorganisms. It’s best to combine a sediment filter with other POE filters for optimal water quality.
2. Activated Carbon Filters
Activated carbon filters are the most commonly used POE filters because they remove a wide range of impurities from water. This includes impurities like chlorine, herbicides, pesticides, and heavy metals. Carbon filters also improve your water’s taste and smell.
3. Ion Exchange Water Softeners
Ion exchange water softeners remove hardness-causing minerals (calcium and magnesium) from water and replace them with sodium. They contain resin beads that are charged with sodium ions. As the hard water passes through the resin beads, the calcium and magnesium ions are exchanged for sodium.
4. Ultraviolet Filters(UV)
Ultraviolet filters are used mainly to remove viruses and bacteria from water. UV filters target and kill these microorganisms, making the water they are living in safe and drinkable. With UV POE filters, you get clean microorganism-free water at every outlet.
How Do POE Water Filters Reduce the Carbon Footprint?
POE water filters treat your home water, remove offensive smells and give it a refreshing taste. It also softens your water, preventing damages to your appliances caused by scale build-up.
In addition to having clean water at home, POE water filters reduce your carbon footprint, and here’s how:
1. You don’t need to buy bottled water
Bottled water comes in single-use plastic bottles. People usually dispose of these plastic bottles without recycling them. Plastics pose serious dangers to the environment when they’re not correctly disposed of.
The sun heats these plastics discarded in open spaces, generating greenhouse gasses. The greenhouse gasses get into the air and increase your carbon footprint. When you use a POE filter in your home, there’ll be no need for you to buy bottled water because your tap water will be safe for drinking.
2. Efficient Appliances
Hard water causes scale buildup in your appliances. This affects how efficiently your household appliances work and how long they’ll last.
Your heaters, for example, would require a longer time to heat your water at home if there is scale build-up in them. The time spent to heat your water increases the amount of electricity used and, in turn, increases the amount of carbon dioxide released into the air. With POE filters, especially ion exchange water softeners, there is no problem of scale build-up in your water appliances, and you get to conserve electricity and reduce your carbon footprint.
Keep in mind that POE water filters require regular maintenance to work correctly. Always check to see if you have a leaking system in your filters, and if you find any, ensure that you get it fixed immediately.
3. You don’t need to boil your drinking water.
With POE filters, you have safe drinking water from every outlet in the house. You don’t have to boil your water to purify it. Boiling water with electricity or gas expends energy and increases the amount of carbon dioxide released. With a POE filter installed in your home, you can drink safe water and keep your carbon footprint low.
4. Less Consumption or Burning of Fossil Fuels
Plastic bottles are produced with a lot of fossil fuel burning. When these fossil fuels are burnt, high amounts of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere. If more homeowners used POE filters in their homes, there would be no need to make plastic water bottles, and we’d all see a reduction in our carbon footprint.
Win-Win Situation
POE water filters are very beneficial both to our homes and the environment. They greatly improve your home water and reduce your carbon footprint. As a homeowner, you should be looking into getting a POE water filter. You get clean water, and save the environment—a win-win situation.