How To Set Up a Rainwater Catchment System for Your Tiny House
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Water is amongst the most significant substances on the planet. All animals must need water to live. Whether you are a dweller of the tiny house, you also need water to survive. Apart from drinking, you use water for washing dishes and clothes, and for showering. Rainwater collection can be effective to fulfill the water demand. It will allow you to keep the expenses down and reduce the carbon footprint.
In today’s article, we will discuss a tiny house rainwater catchment setup. Here we will figure out all about rainwater collection in the tiny house. Let’s take a look at the article.
Collecting rainwater for the tiny house is quite simple. You can leave open containers on any rainy day. Whereas the rainwater collection system is an integrated solution. This is the perfect option for your tiny house. Although, the setup is extremely easy. But, you need to do some calculations before starting.
You also need some primary
components. In areas supported by scattered rains, you can not live off the rainwater completely. Moreover, you can use rainwater throughout the year.
A bigger catchment area will allow you to get more rainwater. However you have to store it in a large water tank. After all the setup has been done, you should put a filter for the purification of the water. But if you don’t want to drink it, the filter is not necessary.
Benefits Of Collecting Rainwater
As a dweller of the tiny house, you can easily collect and store rainwater. It provides free water supply in any place. Here are some benefits you can get by harvesting rainwater:
Great For Non-drinking Use:
We mainly use a large amount
of the water for non-drinking purposes. From washing dishes and clothes to flushing toilets and bathing needs great amounts of water. You can easily collect and use rainwater for doing these works. Rainwater will lessen the requirement of detergent when you wash dishes and clothes. Therefore, rainwater can be used for washing anything in your tiny house.
Reduces Pressure on Ground Water:
Rainwater will reduce the pressure of using groundwater for your tiny house. Groundwater sources are strained in all areas.
Sometimes, deeper digging will cause some environmental problems. It is also time consuming and expensive too.
Accordingly, saving and using rainwater can be the best solution for the environment. Even when your groundwater supply is not sufficient enough, the rainwater is the best option.
Saves Water Bills:
As a dweller of the tiny house, you have to be concerned about the water bill. The expense will be high when you get water from the other sources. Rainwater harvesting can help you to save your water bills.
The cost of the supply of water must be reduced when you start using the rainwater. Rainwater also kept as the backup water source for your tiny house.
Minimal Maintenance Costs:
A rainwater collection system can be simply constructed. Most of the dwellers of the tiny house can easily build it. Once the setup has been installed, you require usual maintenance. You have to clean it regularly.
Sometimes, periodic inspection needs to be taken. You have to spend time as well as energy.
However, the maintenance cost is not high as compared to others.
Regular maintenance also qualifies the system to work properly.
If you use this only for the non-drinking purpose, you don’t need to install the purification process.
The storage amount of water will depend on your daily usage.
In the case of a permanent tiny house, you can build a storage tank. While having more capacity, it will provide your daily needs for water supply.
Rainwater storage can be passive. Only little maintenance is required after setting up the system. We recommend you to buy pumps with filters before it comes into your tiny house. In this way, you are able to collect clean water. However, precautions should be taken if you live in colder climates.
Calculation And Preparation
The average person uses at least 300 gallons of water or more daily. Approximately 70% uses the water for indoor works such as showering, flushing the toilet, and running the faucet. Water-efficient devices and water-saving techniques can be used by you. This will save you water. For daily activities, the average water consumption is as follows:
Showering needs about 2 to 4 gallons each minute.
Toilet flushing needs 1.6 to 2 gallons per minute.
Hand washing needs 1 gallon each minute.
Washing clothes need 15 gallons on each load.
In case your area gets heavy rain throughout the monsoon, you have to consider the larger storage container. You can keep the rainwater for the drier seasons. You should use local climate data. It will help you to estimate the amount of rain you will be getting throughout the years.
Setting Up The Rainwater Catchment System
Here are the parts of the rainwater catchment system:
Catchment Area
It refers to the surface where the rainwater first hits. In most of the tiny houses, it is the roof. In the case of the flat roof, you can build an independent collection area in your property. The more catchment area you have, a large amount of rainwater you can collect. Steel roofs are perfect for catching the rainwater. They are very easy to clean. Besides, they don’t tamper with the water quality. They have a smooth surface that maximizes the collection potential. You can buy steel sheets from this reliable brand. Even you can reuse old sheets from the tiny house build.
Downspout
The downspout connects the gutters with the storage areas. You can use a flexible pipe for this. Or you can downspout for collecting the rainwater. The filter and diverter are connected with the downspout. The diverter is an outlet. It will separate the dirty water from the clean rainwater. The filter will keep insects and debris away from the water supply. You can find companies which are specialized in rainwater collection. You can also install it by using packs from Amazon.
Initial Flush Filter
Apart from your mesh filter, an additional filtration system has to be used. It will redirect the flow of dirty water out of the catchment system. The initial flush filter or rain barrel diverter is the contraption. It connects the downspout with the collection area. This is commonly made of PVC. It will allow clean water to enter the storage system. Thus, you will get clean water. There are many companies available for buying the downspout and diverter kit. You can easily buy and install it.
Collection Area
The collection area refers to the storage units. You can use the standard drums for this. Then attach it with the drums and PVC pipes. It will increase the storage capacity. The collection area depends on the daily amount of water consumption. Consider portable storage options for rover tiny houses. When you set up the rain barrel, you should consider the stability. Place the containers on the solid foundation for collecting the rainwater. You can buy drums and IBC totes online.
Pressure Pump
If you consider gravity can not push the water, installing a pressure pump is the best idea. It is similar to the water pump. This means you have to get away along with lighter things. So, a pressure pump is a great option for your tiny houses. In case, you don’t like to simplify the method, you have to use a pressure pump. It will pump the water directly to your barrel. However, a barrel water pump can also do this trick.
Safety Of The Rain Water
Rainwater is safe for drinking. You can use it without worrying. But, we recommend you to purify and filter the water when the source is unknown. As for the waterfalls, it is very clean. Because it comes directly from the sky. While the water lands on any surface, it begins to contaminate. Towards moving into the tank, it can be polluted. So, you should always purify and filter the water.
Purification And Filtration
Depending on the setup and use, you can use filtration and purification. The main difference between purification and filtration is the level of protection. Generally, a water filter can remove waterborne bacteria and protozoa. But can not remove the viruses. A water purifier can combat all these microbes, including viruses. A commercial system will not cost you much money. Moreover, it is a good option.
Conclusion:
So, this is all about a tiny house rainwater catchment setup. We hope this post will help you to learn how to set up this. Beside it, you should always keep a backup water source. Throughout the year, you can collect, store, and use the rainwater. As it comes from the sky, it is pure. In the case of drinking, you can simply add a filter and purifier. Let’s enjoy collecting the rainwater!
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