How can I save energy in my bathroom?

How can I save energy in my bathroom?

When it comes to bathroom design, many of us prioritise practicality over leisure and elegance.  It makes sense to keep track of how much energy your bathroom uses on a daily, monthly, and annual basis. The bathroom may be one of the smaller rooms in your home, but it delivers a significant punch in terms of the amount of energy that your household consumes. Unless you consider bathroom energy savings, a lot of your hard earned money can literally go down the drain.

Do you want to save money while also helping the environment? Focus on saving energy in the bathroom, and you will succeed. Here are our top bathroom energy efficiency tips:

Bathroom Energy Savings Tips

#1. Examine Your Extractor Fans

Condensation is one of the biggest causes of wear and tear in your bathroom. Moisture in the air from the bath, faucets, and shower can stick to the walls. This moisture will eat away at the walls and fixtures over time, causing mould and damp problems. Condensation will eventually need you to rebuild or redesign your bathroom, which will cost you money and have an impact on the environment.

Extractor fans prevent the issues stated above by eliminating part of the moisture in the air. Get an extractor fan with heat recovery capability to save even more electricity in the bathroom. These extractors remove some of the heat from the air, heating up the cold air in the room and making it much warmer. This means you won’t have to turn on the bathroom radiator as frequently.  It’s a smart bathroom upgrade that will save you money and help reduce your energy usage.

#2: Reduce Your Water Use

The Energy Trust discovered that heating water costs about 23% of the average heating bill! Using less water in general will help you save money on your electric and gas costs. Finally, it’s a win-win situation!

To gain these benefits, you do not need to perform substantial renovations to your home or redesign your bathroom. Installing energy-efficient bathroom appliances and fixtures can be a significant step to reduce water consumption and lowering your energy bill. There are numerous minor improvements you can make around the house that will significantly reduce your utility bills.

Here are some simple and practical methods to use less water around the house and save money on bathroom electricity. Following just a couple of these suggestions will help you significantly enhance how energy efficient you are throughout your entire home.

Tips for Conserving Water

Instead of taking a bath, take a shower – While a long soak in the tub can be very relaxing, baths require a lot more water than bathroom showers. A five-minute shower will consume less than half the water that a bath would! For a family of four, switching even one bath per week for a brief shower can save up to £50 per year on the gas bill and water meter.

Keep an eye out for dripping faucets – Do you have any dripping bathroom faucets? If this is the case, it is essential to get them fixed as soon as possible. A dripping hot water tap can waste over 5,000 litres of water each year. Consider how much money you’re wasting on gas and water! You may save a lot of money through reducing your water and energy use by just tightening bathroom taps.

Home Energy Saving Tips

Turn off the water whenever possible – Turn off the water whether you’re washing dishes, brushing your teeth, or washing your face. Consider installing low-flow faucets in your bathroom. Another solution is to install low-cost flow controls in your home’s faucets. You won’t believe how much money you can save this way!

Consider how often you flush the toilet – Flushing the toilet uses almost 30% of all water in the average household! Reducing the number of flushes will significantly decrease the quantity of water you use in your home. If you really want to make a difference, consider adding a twin flush insert device. This device will cut the quantity of water used in each flush by half. Furthermore, many water suppliers will give these devices away for free if you check with your local provider.

Install a water-saving shower head – Water saving shower heads minimise the energy required as they use less water without lowering your water pressure. These work great on power and mixer showers (with high flow), but they cannot be used on electric showers without causing damage.

#3. Insulation is an effective way to save energy

Consider insulating your bathroom walls the next time you replace bathroom tiles or fixtures. If you currently live in a home without cavity wall insulation, your bathroom is certainly colder than the rest of the house. Adding this insulation will warm up the bathroom and the entire house. This will lower the amount of money you need to spend on bathroom heating in the winter.

Insulation isn’t just for the walls. Insulating your hot water pipes can save you money (up to £15 per year). Do you want to save even more money and energy? Then choose to insulate your hot water tank with a jacket at least 75 mm thick. This will reduce heat loss by 75%, saving you up to £40 each year. The jacket keeps your water hotter for longer, which means you use less electricity and spend less money.

#4. Choose Energy-Efficient Lighting

Another great way to save on energy in the bathroom is to replace your old lighting with more energy-efficient ones. LED or Compact Fluorescent Lighting may cost a little more than other lights (and you may require an electrician to install them), but they last much longer and cost significantly less to operate.

Energy-efficient CFLs are available in supermarkets for roughly £2, yet they last an average of 8,000 hours! This means that their lifetime savings might exceed £35.  With energy prices increasingly on the rise LEDs could save you large amounts while also ensuring you keep your bathroom looking modern and bright.

#5, Making Bigger Changes for Greater Bathroom Energy Savings

Finally, if you are planning a new bathroom or renovating your existing one, now is a great time to make some energy-efficient adjustments.

• Install a toilet with a low-flush
• Select a bath with a smaller capacity
• Replace single-paned windows with double-paned ones
• Install low-flow bathroom fixtures in both the basin and the bath
• Replace your existing boiler, water tank, and cylinder with a condensing combi-boiler

Stop flushing money down the toilet – literally – and start focusing on bathroom energy conservation! Small improvements to your bathroom may refresh the space, make a positive difference to your energy bills, and eventually reduce your environmental footprint.