For many years, Wilo has been at the forefront of the development of leading edge systems to harvest rainwater and reduce the use of potable water where expensively cleaned water is not really required.

It’s clear we have to think very carefully about the value of using expensive drinking water to flush the loo. Water conservation has always been a higher priority in mainland Europe, than it has been here in the UK, where we have always thought – with some justification in the past – that we get more than our fair share of rain each year. But with climate change, both the amount of rain we get at one time and the regularity with which we get it, is clearly changing, and with some parts of the country experiencing droughts far more often and for longer, rainwater harvesting has become a simple matter of common sense.

Water saving goes hand in hand with energy saving, sustainability and reducing carbon emissions – all key elements of Wilo’s environmental policy. With the population of the UK set to increase markedly in the next decade, we will clearly need significantly more water. It makes good common sense therefore, to gather, store and utilise the water we get for free to use for watering the garden, cleaning cars, flushing toilets and the like – in fact anything that doesn’t involve cooking and personal hygiene.

Wilo is seeing massively increased interest in rainwater harvesting across the board from commercial applications – it has recently been responsible for the impressive rainwater harvesting system at Belfast Metropolitan College – part of the excellent Titanic Quarter development in Belfast – through systems for new social housing and new private housing developments, to individual properties, including a number of self-build projects across the country.

Wilo rainwater harvesting systems harvest the rainwater that falls on roofs, makes its way through rainwater systems and fine mesh filters, into a tank, usually underground, and then pump it from that tank to be used in a number of non-potable applications. This can reduce the demand on the potable water supply provided by the water companies significantly, it can reduce water costs – particularly if you have a metered water supply of course – and can show a significant reduction in the volume of ‘clean’ water used. Full details of the rainwater harvesting options available from Wilo can be found at www.wilo.co.uk.