Wasting this precious resource has a real impact on the environment, not to mention your energy bills.
Here’s what you need to know:
Managing your hot water
- Insulating your hot water tank with jacket top-up and any exposed hot water pipes could save £50 a year on energy bills.
- Set your controls to give you enough hot water at the right temperature when you want it. We suggest a minimum temperature of 60 degrees.
- Hot water accounts for 12% of a typical household’s energy bill.
- Set your washing machine to 30 degrees to use around 57% less electricity than washing at higher temperatures.
What else can you do to save water?
- When replacing your dishwasher or washing machine, look for products with a Water Efficient Product Label or Waterwise Recommended checkmark.
- Make sure that the dishwasher and washing machine are full before you use them.
- Fitting a dual flush on your toilet saves around 8,000 litres of water per year in a four-person household.
- Don’t leave taps running – you could be wasting 11 litres a minute while brushing your teeth or doing the washing up.
- Stop dripping taps by changing washers when they wear out – leaks could waste over 5,000 litres a year!
- Watch out for power showers – these often use more water than a full bath.
For more water saving tips click here. You can also download our Water saving tips PDF.
Savings based on a typical three-bedroom semi-detached gas heated house, with an 88% efficient gas boiler and average gas tariff of 8p/kWh and electricity tariff of 30p/kWh. Correct as of July 2023.