Rainwater harvesting is becoming a hugely popular solution in Ireland. Traditionally, an activity that was commonplace in arid and semi-arid areas, Irish people are quickly seeing the benefits that rainwater harvesting has to offer with water becoming a hugely valuable commodity here.

With our growing population and the changing climate, our water resources are under increasing pressure. The average household uses approximately 150 litres of water per person per day with only 50% of this needed to be sterile. Rainwater harvesting is the perfect solution for providing water for livestock, domestic water and irrigation supplies. In this blog we look at the three stages involved in rainwater harvesting as well as discussing our easy to install RAINstar solution.

1. Collection

The first and most logical step of rainwater harvesting is to collect the rainwater. With all the rain we get in this part of the world that shouldn’t be a problem! However, the collection system is important. The collector collects the rain as it falls via sealed gutters from your roof and down the side of your house. From here the water is passed along to be filtered before use.

2. Filtration

Filtration is an important component of the rain harvesting process to remove both visible and fine sediment. A series of filters are used. The first filtering process removes visible debris such as leaves and twigs. The water then flows down to the underground concrete storage tank through an inlet.

3. Storage & Final Filtration

Before use, the rainwater will be passed through a number of further filters to remove fine sediment. The water will be pumped to a header tank which is gravity fed into pipework for non-potable applications such as toilets and washing machines. From here you can begin to experience the cost saving, environmentally friendly benefits of rainwater harvesting.

How our RAINstar rainwater harvesting system works

Here at Carlow Tanks we offer the RAINstar rainwater harvesting system. The RAINstar rainwater harvesting system collects the run-off from the roof area, via the sealed gutters. The flow is then passed through a series of filters. The water flows down into the underground concrete storage tank, through a calmed inlet.

Water is then pumped, via a pressure switch & buffer vessel, to a header tank. This is then gravity fed into separate pipework for non-potable applications.

Enroute to the header tank, the harvested rainwater passes through two further filters – the final filter removing the fine sediment, down to 5 microns. In times of heavy rainfall, the RAINstar system is designed to overflow to storm drain via a trapped overflow syphon.

The RAINstar system is supplied to the end user as a plug & play package. It is placed in its final position using the delivery vehicle crane by our fully trained operators, pre- commissioned and ready to go with no hidden costs.

To learn more about rainwater harvesting click here.

Here at Carlow Concrete Tanks we are industry leaders in rainwater harvesting in Ireland. Please contact our experts today to discuss the numerous benefits or specific details of rainwater harvesting and rainwater harvesting tanks in Ireland. Email enquiries to sales@carlowtanks.com, or call +353 59 9159100