Small RO pumps use little power by the makers' specs, while UV lamps that run all the time cost more. Retail bottled water costs a few dollars a gallon, many times more than filtered tap water.
| Source | What it found (quoted) and its limits | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| US EIA. Electric Power Monthly (update, print version) - average residential retail price (2026 (Aug data)) · new government statistics |
Residential average price August 2026: 18.16 cents/kWh Limits: Single month (summer); state range wide |
Evidence: strong Free to read · source · added 2026-10-30 |
| Beverage Marketing Corporation. Bottled Water in the U.S. (2025 edition, topline report) - table of contents PDF (2024/2025) · new market research (paywalled) |
exhibit "U.S. Bottled Water Market Estimated Wholesale Dollars, Gallonage and Price 2023" Limits: Paywalled; figures not visible |
Evidence: strong Paywalled · source · added 2026-10-30 |
| The Shelby Report: Bottled water named No. 1 packaged beverage (IBWA/BMC 2025 data, released 13 May 2026) (2026) · new trade press citing BMC |
"Americans consumed an average of 47.7 gallons of bottled water in 2025"; retail sales $51.3 billion; "At roughly 2.4 cents per ounce" Limits: Year of the per-ounce figure not specified; average across single-serve and bulk |
Evidence: moderate Free to read · source · added 2026-10-30 |
| Rodwan JG Jr. Bottled Water Reporter stats, June 2025 (Beverage Marketing Corporation data) (2025 (2024 data)) · new trade publication citing market data |
2024 volume "16,404.4" million gallons; wholesale "$28,198.7" million; per capita "47.3" gallons Limits: Includes sparkling/imports (raises average vs C39); wholesale only |
Evidence: moderate Free to read · source · added 2026-10-30 |
| IBWA: How Much Does Bottled Water Cost? (citing Beverage Marketing Corporation) (2023 data) · new trade association citing market data |
"the average wholesale price per gallon of domestic non-sparkling bottled water was $1.44 in 2023" Limits: Wholesale, not shelf price; industry source |
Evidence: moderate Free to read · source · added 2026-10-30 |
| UMass Amherst CAFE. Ultraviolet Radiation Treatment of Drinking Water Supplies (2007) · new university extension |
lamp "replaced at least once a year"; systems "designed for continuous operation"; new lamp may "lose 20 percent of its intensity within the first 100 hours" Limits: No wattage; 2007 |
Evidence: moderate Free to read · source · added 2026-10-30 |
| Russell S. Ultraviolet Technology: The Non-Chemical Alternative for Well Water Disinfection. Water & Wastes Digest (2000) · new trade magazine (author works for UV seller) |
"average 10 gpm household UV system costing approximately $2.50 each month in electricity cost"; lamps "every 9,000 hours or approximately once a year" Limits: Old, industry author, no wattage stated |
Evidence: weak Free to read · source · added 2026-10-30 |
| VIQUA VH200-F10 / VH410-F20 UV system specification sheet (MANUFACTURER CLAIM) (n.d.) · new manufacturer spec sheet (claimed) |
"Power Consumption 35 W 60 W" (9 and 18 GPM at 30 mJ/cm2); lamp life "9000 hours" Limits: Claimed; whole-house units; ballast losses may be included or not |
Evidence: weak Free to read · source · added 2026-10-30 |
| Statista: Average wholesale price of bottled water in the US (various) · new aggregator (BMC data, paywalled) |
not visible (paywall) Limits: Paywalled secondary |
Evidence: weak Paywalled · source · added 2026-10-30 |
Evidence grade: strong = trials, large field studies or official datasets; moderate = smaller or lab studies with real water; weak = single small studies, makers' specs or secondary reports. "Free to read" means the source itself is free to read online.