Simple Water-Saving Habits That Cut Bills and Energy Use
Guides
- Hot water costs add up. On a typical energy bill, around £1 in £9 goes on heating water.
- Small daily swaps work. Think 4-minute showers, full laundry loads, washing at 20-30°C and using a bowl instead of a running tap.
- A low-flow shower head, dual-flush/efficient toilet or a cistern displacement device saves water and the energy needed to heat it
Cutting water waste is one of the quickest routes to lower bills and a smaller carbon footprint. Here are a few easy wins you can try today. Book an energy advice call with LEAP for more advice that’s specific to your home and situation.
How to save water and cut bills
Take 4 minute showers
Shorter showers use less water and less hot water energy. Keep it to four minutes and you could save around £45 a year in Great Britain (£65 in Northern Ireland) and roughly 17,000 litres of water. Try a simple shower timer or a 4-minute song.
Also, turn the tap off while you soap/shampoo. A running tap can waste around 6 litres a minute so trimming a minute off your shower can save up to 8 litres.
Upgrade your loo
If you can, choose a dual-flush or water-efficient toilet. Where swapping the whole unit isn’t possible, pop a cistern displacement device in the tank to reduce flush volume.
Wash cool and wait for a full laundry load
Wash at 20-30°C. Lower temperatures use less energy. Modern detergents are designed to work at cooler settings and many machines now include a 20°C option.
Wash with full loads only. Cutting out one weekly washing-machine (and dishwasher) cycle can save a typical household about £11 a year per appliance in Britain.
Kitchen habits that save hot water energy
- Use a bowl, not a running tap. Washing up or rinsing food in a bowl saves both water and energy.
- Re-use water. Rinse fruit and veg in a bowl and tip the cool water on to houseplants or the garden.
- Put lids on pans, or steam your veg. Keeping lids on reduces heat loss and the amount of energy you use.
- Only boil what you need. Filling the kettle just to the level you’ll use can save about £10 a year in Britain.
Fit a low-flow shower head
Swapping an inefficient shower head for a water-efficient model can trim combined heating and water bills by about £65 per year in Britain. Many water companies provide free home upgrades like these – check with your supplier.
Minimise water and energy waste
- Fix drips. A dripping tap wastes thousands of litres a year so replace washers promptly.
- Use cold water where you can. If hot water isn’t needed, stick to cold to avoid unnecessary energy use.
- Take showers more often than baths, and keep it short. Even swapping one bath a week for a quick shower saves around 4,000 litres a year.
- Insulate your hot-water cylinder. This is a low-cost way to reduce heat loss and keep water hotter for longer, saving energy.
- Know where your hot water goes. Roughly 11% of the average energy bill is spent on heating water, so the bathroom and kitchen are prime places to cut costs.
For personalised, free advice, LEAP’s energy advisors can help you prioritise the habits that will save you most, check for free water-saving tech from your energy supplier, look at your hot-water setup and point you to further support.
