Homes Specification
WaterSense Labeled Homes Program
The WaterSense label is an important part of a whole-house solution to save water, energy, and money while ensuring customer satisfaction. The WaterSense Labeled Homes Program provides flexibility to builders while still meeting consumer expectations for water efficiency and performance.
On this Page:
- Specification for Homes Program
- Mandatory Checklist for WaterSense Labeled Homes
- Homes Specification Background Information
Specification for Homes
In February 2021, EPA released the WaterSense Specification for Homes, Version 2.0. The specification ensures that WaterSense labeled homes are at least 30 percent more water-efficient than a comparable home using typical new construction and also meet homeowner expectations for performance. The specification provides flexibility in meeting WaterSense’s technical requirements without compromising on overall water efficiency or performance, improves collaboration with green certification programs, and allows for easier implementation and certification. The specification is applicable to single-family homes and multifamily buildings.
- WaterSense Specification for Homes, Version 2.0 (PDF) (4 pp, 156 K, About PDF)
- WaterSense Specification for Homes, Version 2.0 Supporting Statement (PDF) (17 pp, 211 K, About PDF)
- Response to Public Comments Received on the Draft of the WaterSense Labeled Homes Program, Version 2 (PDF)(52 pp, 847 K, About PDF)
- Fact Sheet - WaterSense Labeled Homes Program, Version 2 (PDF) (2 pp, 698 K, About PDF)
To confirm that homes are at least 30 percent more water-efficient than a comparable home using typical new construction, EPA evaluates a Home Certification Organization's (HCO) certification methods according to its technical evaluation process:
- WaterSense Technical Evaluation Process for Approving Home Certification Methods, Version 1.0 (PDF) (39 pp, 495 K, About PDF)
- Fact Sheet - Ensuring WaterSense Labeled Homes Deliver on Efficiency (PDF) (2 pp, 595 K, About PDF)
To confirm that homes meet an approved HCO certification method, the WaterSense Homes Certification System requires a home to be inspected by a verifier and certified by the HCO.
WaterSense held a webinar on May 5, 2021, to provide an overview of Version 2 of the WaterSense Labeled Homes Program. Register here to listen to the webinar.
Mandatory Checklist for WaterSense Labeled Homes
The Mandatory Checklist helps ensure that all WaterSense labeled homes contain, at a minimum, a set of features that assure quality performance in addition to efficiency.
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Item |
Requirements |
|---|---|
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Leaks |
Pressure-loss test on all water supplies detects no leaks |
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Free of visible leaks from toilet(s), as determined through visual assessment and by conducting a dye tablet test in each toilet to ensure the flapper is not leaking |
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Free of visible leaks from bathroom faucet(s) |
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Free of visible leaks from showerhead(s) |
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Free of visible leaks from bathroom tub faucet(s), i.e., tub spout(s), when showerhead(s) are activated, as determined through visual assessment after showerhead(s) have been activated for one minute |
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Free of visible leaks from kitchen and other sink faucet(s) |
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Free of visible leaks from other fixtures or appliances (e.g., water heaters, clothes washers, dishwashers, hose bibbs, irrigation systems) at the point of use or point of connection to water distribution system |
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Toilets |
WaterSense labeled |
|
Bathroom sink faucets |
WaterSense labeled |
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Showerheads |
WaterSense labeled |
Homes Specification Background Information
For more information about the previous versions of the WaterSense Labeled Homes Program and the Version 2.0 specification development process, including the draft specification and supporting materials, summaries of stakeholder meetings, public response to the draft specification and supporting materials, and EPA's response to the public comments, please visit the Homes Specification Background page.