showering

People in the UK like to shower. A new study has shown that 42% of us never use our baths at all and prefer to shower exclusively. Showering now actually is the one activity in the home which consumes the most water. In fact 25% of all the water we use in our homes is dedicated to showering. An average shower with a standard shower head uses around 60 litres of water compared to a typical bath that uses around 80 litres of water. So by showering more and taking less baths we are in fact using consuming less water. Which is great for us and even better for the environment.

There are a variety of ways we could even save more water in our showers. In general a shorter shower will use less water, but 42% of us report that our showers last between 6 - 10 minutes and nearly as many of us (around 45%) say that our showers only last between 1 - 5 minutes. If more of us could move from the 6 - 10 minute category to the 1 - 5 minute category we could all be saving even more water and that would mean more savings in on our water bills every year. The report suggest that if every household in the UK shaved just one minute off their showers every day we could possibly save up to £215 million on our national energy bills per annum. A household of four people with a water meter and a power shower could actually save £60 a year on both their water and energy bills, making a total saving of £120. Simply by showering for one minute less each day.

Because we are using the majority of our household water in showers, it is important to look at ways in which we can reduce waste in our showers. An important step in reducing shower water consumption is to install a more water efficient shower heads. These shower heads actually restrict the flow of water so and also can aerate the water flow and thereby cut down on consumption. Though the study shows that only 25% of us use these energy efficient shower heads. A normal British household could actually save around £55 a year on energy bills by just switching to a more efficient eco-shower head.

The other ways in which we use water in our homes also give us a good insight into where we can make more energy savings and water consumption savings. The report details that by far the most water we use is in our bathrooms, bathroom usage accounts for 68% of total water use. Followed by 22% in the kitchen and 10% outdoors. After showers, toilets are the second highest domestic water using device. They account for 22% of our household water consumption. On average we flush our toilets about 4,600 times a year and that equates to about 28,000 litres of water - which could fill 350 bath tubs! New technology in the toilets have seen great reductions in water consumption, such as dual flushing toilets. Yet only 41% of us actually have a dual flushing toilet installed in our homes. If the 51% of households who do not have dual flushing toilets were to upgrade their toilets they could save more than 7,000 litres of water a year. In a four person household this could cut the annual water bill by around £80.

This study by the Energy Saving Trust was released last Thursday and consisted of 86,000 individual respondents in the UK. It's focus is to evaluate water usage in the home and provide suggestions to governments and individuals on ways to save on energy and water.

If the above has given you some motivation to change your old shower head for a new eco-friendly variety, please do not look any further than any of the fantastic shower filters at PureShowers.co.uk. All of our hand held shower filters have aeration nozzles and also flow restrictors to ensure that they comply with energy staving standards. So you won't just be getting crystal clear filtered shower water when installing a shower filter from PureShowers.co.uk - but you will also be saving money. Can't beat that!