The world has been burning through natural resources at an incredible rate lately, and only recently have the effects begun to show their face to the general public. One way customers can start down the road to becoming environmentally friendly is by purchasing a tankless water heater. By cutting down on the amount of energy wasted, and carbon footprint produced, consumers can do their part in making the world a healthier place to live.

Dr. Tom Gleeson of the University of Victoria recently led a study that calculated exactly how much water is left in the ground, and the results proved to be wholly valuable, while the slightest bit misleading. While scientists found that about 23 million cubic kilometers of water lay in aquifers, only 0.35 million cubic kilometers of it is considered usable. Anything older than 50 years is mainly used for farming or cooling down large machines because of the amount of uranium and salt buildup found in it.

The study also found that in one human life span, aquifers only regenerate about 6 percent of the water used.

California experienced a debilitating drought this summer, and more could come.

"This has never been known before," Gleeson said in a press release. "We already know that water levels in lots of aquifers are dropping. We're using our groundwater resources too fast—faster than they're being renewed."

This is a phenomenon that can't be stopped by just one person. Everyone will have to do their part.

Conserve, conserve, conserve
There are multiple ways to go about reducing water waste, but one of the easiest ways is to install low-flow faucets and WaterSense labeled shower heads to go with your tankless water heater. The Environmental Protection Agency found that 17 percent of the average home's water use originates from the shower, which calculates up to 40 gallons a day. The amount of water used for showering in the United States every year, 1.2 trillion gallons, could produce the amount of water needed for citizens of New York or New Jersey, the EPA pointed out.

The EPA observed that, on average, those who use WaterSense faucets save 2,900 gallons annually. Doing so vastly reduces your impact on the nation's water supply. A low-flow faucet can reduce water waste by up to 80 percent by suffocating the amount of water that comes down to 1-2 gallons per minute, according to Code Green Houston.

Waste not, want not
Tankless water heaters dramatically reduce the extent to which energy resources are wasted. The average storage water heater suffers from a plague called standby heat loss. This occurs when water is heated up and stored for later use, but no one uses it. As it sits there it loses temperature, causing the system to use more energy to build the temperature up when it's called upon. Electric tankless water heaters stop this problem by getting rid of the storage component. The system uses thermo optical sensors to heat water instantaneously, meaning that the consumer won't be using more energy than necessary.

The Department of Energy found that a tankless water heater can be anywhere from 8 to 34 percent more energy efficient than its storage counter-part. This results in savings of, at the very least, $100 a year, the DOE pointed out. Not only will the consumer be doing their part in saving the world, but they'll be saving money at the same time.

Pairing an electric tankless water heater only increases the amount of resources saved. Using renewable energy is important to society because it will never run out, as Renewable Energy World aptly pointed out. Making the most out of energy that is both free, besides installation costs for panels, and will be there for generations to come is vital in the process of reducing carbon footprints. The goal is to leave as little an impact on the world as possible, and reducing energy consumption does just that.

Consider all options when trying to lessen the the high rate of resources being consumed. Sometimes the answer can be as simple as installing a tankless water heater.