Metering faucets are generally not the first thought that comes to mind when thinking about plumbing innovations. Still, these pieces have proven to be an innovation that has stood the test of time: the most effective way to reduce water use is by precisely controlling the amount of water flow and cycle time through self-closing valves.
It’s hard to imagine improving a device that’s one major purpose is to turn on and off the flow of water. Yet, over the years, a number of innovations have been made to the metering faucet, which can be manually or electronically operated. Metering faucets contribute to conservation simply by regulating the run time (cycle time), and thus controlling flow rate (gallons per minute).