Water-saving advice
Getting water to your taps uses a lot of energy, especially when it's heated up - so using less water can save you a lot of money. Use our top tips to save water inside and outside your home.
With more water companies initiating drought plans on the back of the long period of low rainfall, it’s important we all do our bit – while easing the strain on their pockets. Read more about how to fight the drought and save on water bills.
Snub the tub
If everybody in your family of four replaces one bath a week with a five-minute shower, you can save up to £18 a year on gas bills and up to £21 on water bills (if you have a water meter).
Change your head
If a family of four replace their inefficient shower head with a water-efficient one they could save around £72 off their gas bills and around £72 off their water bills (if they have a water meter) each year. That’s a total saving of £150.
Fill ’em up!
Make sure that dishwashers and washing machines are full before you use them, and always use the most efficient water and energy settings. When it's time to replace your appliance, look for the Energy Saving Recommended logo: products with this logo will save both energy and water.
Suds law
Using a sink of water to wash up twice a day rather than having the hot tap running could save around £34 a year on your gas bill and around £25 on your water bill (if you have a water meter). If you need to rinse utensils or wash vegetables, use cold water if possible and don't leave the tap running!
Go off the boil
Kettles use a lot of electricity, so try not to boil water you won't use use: most kettles can boil as little as a mugful. This could save you around £7 a year on energy bills. If everyone in the UK did this, we could save enough electricity in a year to power the UK's street lights for one month.
Turn it off
A running tap wastes more than six litres of water a minute, so turn off the tap while brushing your teeth, shaving, or washing your face - and use cold water if you don't need hot.
Don't be a drip
A dripping tap can waste more than 5,500 litres of water a year, so make sure your taps are properly turned off and change washers promptly when taps start to drip.
Make it go further
Try to reuse unused water: for example, pour leftover glasses of water on houseplants and avoid wasting water from running taps while waiting for hot water.
And outside your home...
Get your butt in gear
Your roof collects tens of thousands of litres of water each year, but it runs straight into the drains. Collect it in a water butt and you can use it to water your garden and wash your car. There's a bonus: rainwater is softer than tap water, so it's better for plants - use it for your houseplants too!
Bucket the trend
Avoid jet washes and energy-wasting car washes. Wash your car using a good old bucket and sponge, preferably using water from your water butt.
Fight the drought and save on water bills
Did you know that simple changes can save a high-usage household £420 on water/ energy bills?
With more water companies initiating drought plans on the back of the long period of low rainfall, easing the strain on your pockets has never been so important.
Many parts of the South East have been in official drought status for a month, and now Anglian Water, Southern Water, South East Water, Sutton and East Surrey Water, Thames Water, Veolia Water East and Veolia Water Central have said they will impose hosepipe bans by next month at the latest.
So what can you do?
Talk of drought is always worrying – we’re so used to a regular water supply in the UK that we almost take it for granted. Whilst water companies do their best to ensure supplies are maintained, we can all do our bit in the home.
There’s no getting around it – we use a lot of water in our homes, and all have a responsibility to be more water-efficient. It’s a precious resource and it’s not for free. Water-saving has quadruple benefit: since we heat much of our household water, you can save big on your energy as well as water bills, while doing your bit to mitigate water shortages and reduce your home’s carbon footprint. It’s a win:win:win:win scenario.
The average water-usage per household across Great Britain is around 350 litres of water a day, with an average bill of £360 a year water and sewerage and around £160 in energy for heating water used by showers, baths and taps.
Simple measures and behaviour changes could save a high water-usage four person household around £420 on water and gas bills each year and over half a tonne of carbon dioxide. Check out the tips above for quick and easy changes you can make around the house.
Make sure you calculate your family’s water use and potential savings today with the Water Energy Calculator.