Here are a few suggestions on how you can save energy on your heating bills
Tuesday 22nd October 2013
Water Heating
Heating water requires large amounts of energy. Significant savings can be made by:
• Reducing wasteful loss of heat.
• Reducing the volume of heated water.
• Reducing the temperature so the water is only raised to the maximum required.
There are cheap and simple ways to do this without affecting your comfort. For example:
| Actions |
Typical Costs |
Typical Savings |
| Buy your tank a jacket Putting a cylinder jacket round the hot water tank can pay for itself within a few months, as long as you choose an approved British Standard (e.g. BS 5616:1985) 80mm thick jacket. However most new tanks are foam insulated during the manufacturing process and therefore do not need any further lagging. Exposed hot water pipes should also be lagged. Lagging your hot water tank and pipes can save up to one third of the cost of water heating. You should also lag hot and cold water pipes in roof spaces. |
From £35 | £20-£40 per year |
| Take control As with space heating, your water heating system should have suitable controls. A gas or oil fired boiler should have a cylinder thermostat to measure the temperature and control the burner. An immersion heater should be set no higher than 60°C (140°F). If you want hotter water, mix in less cold water when filling your sink or bath. |
£0 | Taking better control of your heating controls and reducing your water temperature could save over 17% on your heating bill |
| Use a shower rather than a bath A five minute shower uses less than 50% of the water used to fill a bath, and it’s quicker. However, avoid power showers as they can actually fill a bath tub in less than 5 mins. If you want to achieve better water pressure, invest in an aerated shower head which doesn’t use excessive volumes of water. If you do have a bath, don't make it too full or too hot. A shower timer could help you keep your showers short. |
A typical bath uses up to 80 litres. A 5 min shower only uses only 30 litres |
Up to 50 litres of hotwater |
| Put a plug in it Avoid cleaning dishes under running hot water. Putting the plug in the sink or using a washing up bowl uses much less water. If you have a dishwasher, make sure it’s full before you turn it on. Your dishwasher may have a half-load setting – but that doesn’t necessarily mean it only uses half the energy and water. |
A running tap can use as much as 5 litres of water per minute | The average washing up bowl has a volume of up to 10 litres. An efficient dishwasher uses no more than 20 litres per cycle. |
| Stop the dripping Turning taps off properly and repairing ones that drip is well worth the money |
A new tap washer can cost as little as 50p | A single tap dripping once a second could waste 1400 litres of water in a year |
