Everyone likes new ideas on how to save money on their electricity and water bills. The easiest way to save money is to reduce your consumption and wastage in the home. Making a few changes to your, taps, toilet, shower or buying an efficient washing machine and dishwasher can reduce your water wastage by half.
By introducing water-wise products into your home you and the environment are benefiting. The initial cost might seem expensive, but you’re not alone as some councils are offering rebates or incentives. Contact your council and start making this change towards a greener lifestyle and save on your water and heating bills.
Making Your Home Energy Efficient
Make a point of checking all water sources thoroughly, this includes the outdoor areas like your garden tap and pool area. Start by checking your plumbing for leaks and the taps for drips. Toilets, showers, baths and basins are the biggest water waters in home.
Toilets
Older toilets especially, are the worst offenders as they have a single flush system. The older style cisterns can waste an extra 4-5 litres per flush when compared to modern designs of today.
If your home is harboring a single flush system, and can’t afford to replace it, talk to your local hardware or plumber about your options. Your plumber will suggest putting a device, know as a float in your cistern. Either you can arrange for the plumber to come to your home and fit the attachment or if you’re a handy person, you can buy and fit the part yourself. This water reducer does work extremely well, however it’s not as efficient as a new Dual flush or Slimline system.
Dual flush toilets entered the market in 1981 and since then, they’ve developed more water-wise cisterns that have a long and short flush to save on water. Slimline toilets are also have a dual flush system, however the cistern is smaller and holds up to 4-5 litres per flush.
Bath Tubs
Baths are still essential in the home especially if you have young children. We all like to spoil ourselves occasionally and have a nice soak, however we need to think more about the environment and not ourselves. Just run enough water to be able to bathe you or the children and this should help reduce water usage.
Shower Time
Having a shower is more economical than having a bath, that’s if you’re having a 5 minute shower. Having a 5 minute shower can be unrealistic for some as it can take about that long to adjust the temperature right.
To reduce water wastage and to have a shower that lasts longer than 5 minutes you can install a shower head that has optional functions and also an aerator to the fitting. These attachments alone can reduce the water flow without reducing the pressure.
The aerators works by adding more air into the water which acts as a water volumizer and gives you the sensation of having a normal shower, with less water usage.
Tapwear & Accessories
Fitting aerators and flow regulators to every tap in the home, can reduce the rate of water flow by a third and your costs. Buy changing the taps of your hand basin over to an automatic sensor tap this can cut down the water wastage especially when your brushing your teeth. If you have really old tapwear and it’s impossible to install aerators, you should think about replacing them as soon as you can.
Energy Efficient Goods
Heating the water in your home uses up a lot of resources if you don’t have instant hot water. You could be wasting liters of clean water just waiting for it to heat up. This situation can be avoided by installing a gas or electric tankless water heater. This system works by supplying instant hot water to the shower, and to the rest of the home to help you save on power and water. Although these systems are both superb the electric system is a lot friendly to the environment, even though it costs more to run.
Two more areas in the house where you can save on electricity and water is in the kitchen and in the laundry. Replace your old dishwasher and washing machine with modern, high energy efficient rated goods. Make sure these electrical goods also have an eco setting.
Washing with a full load also saves you money, water and time. If you don’t need a big machine then buy a smaller one. Whilst hand washing dishes is still needed it’s now more efficient to use a dishwasher as they can use less than 10 litres per cycle.
Once you’ve identified all the changes, put together a list of what you need to make your home water-wise, energy efficient and environmentally friendly. Visit your local plumber or hardware store to organize the water saving devices.
If you plan to do the repairs or adjustments yourself make sure the water is off at the mains.