Tips on how to estimate cost when you buy a water purification system
Let's face it; cost is always a big factor when you want to buy a water purification system for your home. The subject is not as straightforward as it may seem at first. The way to approach it is not only to consider its purchase price, but rather its total cost of ownership.
Below, I give you a list of the elements that should go into your cost equation. In my analysis, I make references to the most popular water purifier technologies now available, which are: Filters, Reverse Osmosis (RO) units, distillers and Ultraviolet (UV) units.
Purchase price
This varies greatly, according to the type and complexity of water purifier you choose. The determining factor for your choice of system should be the range of pollutants you need to remove from your water. You should collect this information beforehand, either through the annual water quality report provided to you by your utility, or through a private test that you can get from a water testing laboratory.
As a general rule, the more the pollutants you want your installed system to remove, the more complicated your set up will become. What you will probably end up requiring is a multi stage system possibly combining different technologies. As you realize, each stage introduced will mark up your initial cost.
Just to give you an indication of the tag prices you could expect, there are simple granular carbon filters starting from just $25 and there are water purifiers combining UV, redox and carbon filters starting from $400 up to $800.
How much to install it
In most of the cases, water purification system manufacturers do not include installation cost in the initial price. The simple explanation for this is that it is not always necessary for a system to require complicated set up. Many of them you can start using right away, either by putting on them on a counter top or by snapping them onto a faucet.
If a water purifier does require installation, it can often be done by anyone who is handy with basic tools. If a professional installs it, expect a cost of $100 to $200 beyond the purchase price, depending on the complexity of the installation.
At any rate, always clarify with the company whether purchase price includes installation as well.
Ongoing cost
The last cost dimension has to do with the ongoing operating cost of the water purification system. In the performance sheets provided by the manufacturers it is usually expressed as "cost per gallon", where by "gallon" they mean gallon of pure water produced. This cost includes money spent on replaceable parts as well as money needed to cover any other operating costs (such as electricity and water bills). It is usually in the range between 6 to 25 dollar cents.
Please note that the cost figure stated in the performance sheet of the system is based on certain assumptions, different for each technology. For example, it is assumed that filters will be replaced roughly once every six months, RO membranes once every two years and UV lamps once a year. Distillers do not have any replaceable components whatsoever, so their running cost is equal to what you pay for electricity and water. What is worthwhile to mention about RO units is that they need a lot of water to operate, so expect your water bill to be high in case you select this type of system.
To illustrate my point that you shouldn't base your decision to buy a water purifier on initial price alone, I will give you an example. While pour through pitcher filters are the cheapest in terms of tag price, they have the highest ongoing cost per gallon. This is due to the fact that their filters need frequent replacement. As a rule of thumb, the larger the filter the more expensive it is to buy, but the cheaper it is to maintain.
To conclude, what's very important to do before you start thinking about the cost is to establish what you want your water purification system to achieve in terms of two things: Firstly, the type and number of pollutants it should eliminate and secondly by how much it should remove them.
So, I will stress again that it is very important that you know what contaminants you want to remove, before you consider buying a water purifier.
Once you establish that all of the systems you consider buying are capable of removing the contaminants that exist in your water, then you can proceed to select the one that has the least cost of ownership. - 17274
Below, I give you a list of the elements that should go into your cost equation. In my analysis, I make references to the most popular water purifier technologies now available, which are: Filters, Reverse Osmosis (RO) units, distillers and Ultraviolet (UV) units.
Purchase price
This varies greatly, according to the type and complexity of water purifier you choose. The determining factor for your choice of system should be the range of pollutants you need to remove from your water. You should collect this information beforehand, either through the annual water quality report provided to you by your utility, or through a private test that you can get from a water testing laboratory.
As a general rule, the more the pollutants you want your installed system to remove, the more complicated your set up will become. What you will probably end up requiring is a multi stage system possibly combining different technologies. As you realize, each stage introduced will mark up your initial cost.
Just to give you an indication of the tag prices you could expect, there are simple granular carbon filters starting from just $25 and there are water purifiers combining UV, redox and carbon filters starting from $400 up to $800.
How much to install it
In most of the cases, water purification system manufacturers do not include installation cost in the initial price. The simple explanation for this is that it is not always necessary for a system to require complicated set up. Many of them you can start using right away, either by putting on them on a counter top or by snapping them onto a faucet.
If a water purifier does require installation, it can often be done by anyone who is handy with basic tools. If a professional installs it, expect a cost of $100 to $200 beyond the purchase price, depending on the complexity of the installation.
At any rate, always clarify with the company whether purchase price includes installation as well.
Ongoing cost
The last cost dimension has to do with the ongoing operating cost of the water purification system. In the performance sheets provided by the manufacturers it is usually expressed as "cost per gallon", where by "gallon" they mean gallon of pure water produced. This cost includes money spent on replaceable parts as well as money needed to cover any other operating costs (such as electricity and water bills). It is usually in the range between 6 to 25 dollar cents.
Please note that the cost figure stated in the performance sheet of the system is based on certain assumptions, different for each technology. For example, it is assumed that filters will be replaced roughly once every six months, RO membranes once every two years and UV lamps once a year. Distillers do not have any replaceable components whatsoever, so their running cost is equal to what you pay for electricity and water. What is worthwhile to mention about RO units is that they need a lot of water to operate, so expect your water bill to be high in case you select this type of system.
To illustrate my point that you shouldn't base your decision to buy a water purifier on initial price alone, I will give you an example. While pour through pitcher filters are the cheapest in terms of tag price, they have the highest ongoing cost per gallon. This is due to the fact that their filters need frequent replacement. As a rule of thumb, the larger the filter the more expensive it is to buy, but the cheaper it is to maintain.
To conclude, what's very important to do before you start thinking about the cost is to establish what you want your water purification system to achieve in terms of two things: Firstly, the type and number of pollutants it should eliminate and secondly by how much it should remove them.
So, I will stress again that it is very important that you know what contaminants you want to remove, before you consider buying a water purifier.
Once you establish that all of the systems you consider buying are capable of removing the contaminants that exist in your water, then you can proceed to select the one that has the least cost of ownership. - 17274
About the Author:
Nicos Stylianou is a long time researcher on issues relating to healthy nutrition. To find information and what he recommends you should do to have purified water at your home, visit his website now.
posted by X - Men at
1:50 AM
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