Saving water in everyday life

Water plays a vital role in our homes. We use it for drinking, washing, and cooking amongst many other things. This has a big impact on our energy bills, with 12% of your energy bill going towards heating water. If you happen to live in a rural area without access to the natural gas network, your expenses for heating water might be even higher. Using water wisely can help you save money on your energy bills, and for those with hot water cylinders increase the water available for those important household tasks.

But it’s not just about financial savings – reducing water waste helps you to protect your local water supply and environment. Hot, dry summers put our rural areas at risk of water scarcity. This can affect the supply to your home and negatively impact local wildlife. I. In rural settings, where private water sources are common, droughts can significantly disrupt the water supply.

This is why it is more important than ever that we learn how to reduce our water usage and why it’s useful to do so. There are lots of simple and practical ways to save water, energy and money in your everyday life. Here are some small steps you can take to help save water and help make a positive impact on the climate from your home.

Take shorter showers

Showers and baths account for around 30% of water use in the average household with most of that being hot water. Making a simple change, like shortening your shower to around four minutes, can make a big difference. This can save a four using an immersion heater on an Electric off-peak tariff around 38,000 litres of hot water and over £215 every year as well as 376kg of CO2 emissions per year.

Save water in the garden

Putting all that Scottish rainwater to use is a great way to protect your local supply during the dry summer months! Scottish roofs collect between 45,000-90,000 litres of rainwater each year. Installing a water butt allows you to collect some of this to use when gardening. The rainwater is also better for plants than tap water as it is a great source of nitrogen which helps them thrive.

Don’t waste water and money down the kitchen drain

One fifth of water use in the average household comes from kitchen taps. Did you know a kitchen tap left running on full flow will use over 12 litres of water a minute? Save this water by using a bowl when washing dishes or vegetables. Go even further and try out a tap aerator. It fits on to your existing tap and reduces the flow of water, saving you 10,000 litres of water and £56 a year as well as 72kg CO2 emissions per year.

By embracing these water-saving practices, you’re not only helping your wallet but also to the environment. You can find out more about the importance of saving water on the Scottish Water website.

We have partnered with Scottish Water to deliver free water saving packs to households in Scotland. You can read more about this partnership to help householders reduce their energy bills and the benefits of saving water in our blog.

If you have any questions about how to save water at home or would like to order your free water saving pack, we are here to help. You can speak to one of our friendly advisors by calling us free on 0808 808 2282 or completing our contact form.

 

*Based on hot water savings