The BEST Water Room Setup!! | Smith House

Join us as we take you on a detailed tour of one of the coolest water rooms we’ve ever designed at the MONARCH WOODS house! This state-of-the-art setup includes everything from well systems and pressure tanks to reverse osmosis filters and hybrid heat pump water heaters. We break down each component, explaining how they work together to provide clean, efficient water throughout the property.
What You’ll Learn in This Video:
The role of a well and pressure tanks in maintaining consistent water pressure.
The importance of a backflow preventer to keep chemicals and fertilizers out of your drinking water.
How a multi-stage filtration system works to eliminate particulates and ensure clean water.
The benefits and functionality of a reverse osmosis system, including waste management and efficiency tips.
How a UV filter adds an extra layer of protection against bacteria and other harmful pathogens.
An introduction to hybrid heat pump water heaters and why they are more efficient than traditional electric models.
Tips on optimizing water systems for off-grid living and maximizing sustainability.
If you’re into smart, sustainable, and highly efficient home systems, you’ll love this water room tour! Plus, get expert advice on water filtration, well management, and hybrid water heaters.
Don’t forget to comment below with your thoughts and let us know if you’d like a more in-depth tutorial on tuning your water filtration system. Like, subscribe, and stay tuned for more videos from Smith House, where we turn great ideas into amazing spaces!

[@Kingsmenhomes]

Awesome stuff! Would be interested in seeing a deeper dive on the hybrid heat pump water heater particularly the AO smith models.

[@superspeeder]

Very timely. I’m building right now, on a well, and really want whole house RO. I just don’t want to pay for it! 😂

[@springtimeplumbing6240]

The piping is really straight, clean, and neat. One of my pet peeves. Since this is inside of a building, where the sun doesn't get to the plastic handles, I don't have a big problem with the plastic ball valves, as long as the installer was really careful with the glue. Since you are pulling out of a pond, I would be concerned with how quick those 4x20 cartridge filters are going to clog. Is there a reason you put the UV after the RO, instead of between the cartridge filters and the RO? Not an expert on water systems, but my understanding is that RO should be used as a final cleanup, with MAYBE a carbon filter to do a final polish. I would be concerned with bacteria growing on the surface of the RO filter, reducing efficiency. Not that it is a real problem, but those flexible tubes on top of the water heater are driving my OCD crazy. Just can't go there, hard pipe and fittings aren't that much more difficult or time consuming. One last little nitpick. Don't know code in your area, so maybe not applicable there. But PVC is not approved for indoor use under the code I work under.

[@superspeeder]

Good questions, I’m curious as well.

[@JordanSmithBuilds]

Thanks for the comment! - Pond - We have the piping installed to pull from the pond, but to complete that functionality, we will need to add a pump and dedicated pond water pre filter. -UV- I got that wrong! You are correct, the UV filter is the last step, after it has been stored. -PVC- We consider the water room to be part of the water service and not water distribution. Splitting hairs, right :)

[@adamr1637]

Very cool setup

[@TheVimeo]

lovely video!

[@TimothyDSwieter]

Whole house RO is nice, but it has its challenges. Any metal anywhere in the system, like hot water heaters or certain faucets or your toilet mechanicals will rust and breakdown. So One needs to be aware and set up all your plumbing devices to work with RO. Hot water heater has been my the hardest as the units in my house now have metal connections and I think the tank is metal too.

[@JordanSmithBuilds]

Good point for sure. We are running PEX throughout, so we should be fine in the walls, but will be keeping an eye on the appliances and fixtures.

[@philiplacey5430]

Nice set up but that room should get painted before you do anything. This is the internet after all, and we have high expectations.

[@JordanSmithBuilds]

I profusely apologize! Wait till the internet sees the rest of the barn :0

[@bobnomura2068]

I woould have preferred 2 UV filters, one for before the 250 gal RO water storage, and one after.

[@JordanSmithBuilds]

I got the order wrong. The UV filter is the last step.

[@bobnomura2068]

@@JordanSmithBuilds Yeah, I wouldn't want potential bacteria living in the RO storage tank.

[@AndrewNaylors]

Why did you add captions if KZbin gives the viewer to turn them on or off? Also, your captions messed up the words, so may as well just use KZbin auto captions.

[@JordanSmithBuilds]

Because I forgot to export as a CC file...

[@Laguna2013]

I need an 80 gal electric hot water heater with a cleanout door. I have heard of these but can't find one can you help me please? Thanks cool video

[@navaho5430]

A couple of rainwater tanks works too.

[@JordanSmithBuilds]

I love rainwater! The gutters on this place are set up for rainwater collection, but the investment in the tank didn't seem worth it with three wells and the pond. Maybe in the future?

[@scottbrauckmuller3718]

You should not have a PVB inside of a structure! You will flood that room if that backflow preventer does what it's supposed to do. I've seen poorly designed sprinkler system with a bad values cause them to dump water out of them as system tries to cycle. If you want to keep backflow inside you need a RP with a dedicated drain.

[@triaxe-mmb]

Could you use the waste water to irrigate or will it be too mineral dense for that purpose? I am seriously considering a full RO system and I live in a water district in CA so my water costs are not insignificant - that percentage of waste water and costs is my biggest concern with using a whole house RO...we have really hard water where I am - RO would be perfect for me as I am really dislike the salt water softener but 20-25% extra on my monthly water bill is not insignificant tbh...also it could push me into a high user category and cause a higher overall billing rate doubled with consumption reduction requirements...but...if I can capture the waste water from RO into cisterns along with my rain water to irrigate my landscaping...then that should make the costs more palatable as my total water usage wouldn't really move a lot...or atleast that is the hope... Does anyone here have any thoughts on this? I am seriously considering contacting US Systems to talk it thru with them...

[@JordanSmithBuilds]

RO waste water is perfect for irrigation. You could couple it with a grey water irrigation system and have the best looking free irrigation on the block!

[@techhealthandfood9952]

How can we reroute that waste of water to the bathrooms?

[@triaxe-mmb]

@@JordanSmithBuilds for a family of 5 in a 4bd/3.5 bath home with 2000sqft of habitable space - how much waste water could we expect? I had put in a perimeter French drain and rain gutter capture systems with 2 dry-wells last year due to crawlspace water intrusion issues but I am now thinking I could replace the drywall with a cistern...didn't think about when I did that work but I could rerout the waste water to these locations...hadn't thought of grey water either...can grey, RO waste water and French/rain gutter runoff all be stored in the same tank system or will they need to be separated? I would assume back flow preventers on the RO-Waste, Grey water diversion, and rain runoff lines should fix any contamination concerns back up the system right?

[@triaxe-mmb]

@@JordanSmithBuilds also, never considered grey water before this tbh...does that need specific approvals from cities? I guess I could call mine to find out...

[@ColeSpolaric]

Water softener and a carbon tank would have been good enough compared to the expense of the RO. Carbon filter will take out nitrates and other bad stuff.

[@superspeeder]

Water softeners are horrible, I grew up with one. In our new build which is on a well, I’m VERY motivated to not have a traditional water softener. The feeling of never rinsing clean in the shower and the constant hassle and expense of filling the softener are definitely good reasons to avoid them.

[@ColeSpolaric]

@@superspeeder I'm not sure how you feel like you never rinse clean. I've never had that problem in over 30 years. I'm on one now with city water and 2 people go through la bag a month. On a well it was like 2 to 3 bags a month.

[@superspeeder]

@@ColeSpolaric I believe it has to do with how hard the water is. If you’re on city water it’s likely softer and needs less salt, so the effect of not rinsing clean would be reduced. We’re going to be on a well, and though I haven’t yet had the water tested I’m pretty confident we will need to mitigate hard water based on talking to people in the area.

[@ColeSpolaric]

@@superspeeder I was on a well before though with water about 3x as hard as the city water that I'm on and never felt like I couldn't get clean. I wonder if you've had softeners that were set to use too much salt.

[@superspeeder]

@@ColeSpolaric that’s definitely possible, but if you do any research into softeners you’ll see undeniable evidence that my experience is not rare.

[@Witcold]

I thought that drinking reverse osmosis water might bring some health risks, at least according to WHO...

[@spikeredvenom758]

I work in a chemical lab and we use RO water on the regular for lab work. We do NOT drink it! Every chemist in the lab says drinking it is not a good idea.

[@spikeredvenom758]

We actually have specific water coolers for drinking water.

[@aayotechnology]

@@spikeredvenom758what’s wrong with RO water?

[@superspeeder]

@@aayotechnologyI’m curious as well. If they were an accepted health concern they wouldn’t be used specifically for drinking water.

[@TimothyDSwieter]

@@superspeeder I don't know anything about what WHO may have said. From my understanding on RO drinking water system is that before delivery you do put some know elements back into the water for taste and health. That is, my RO drinking system isn't straight RO.