One simple trick could help save you £146 a year on household bills
Changing one thing can save you money on your water bills.
Martin Lewis on support for water bills
Brits with water meters could save £146 per year by switching to a water saving shower head, new research has found.
On average, a regular shower head has a 12 litre per minute flow, whereas a water saving shower head has an average 5.7 litre per minute flow.
This hefty difference could reduce Brits water consumption by over 18,000 litres of water per year, according to data from Trade Plumbing.
In 2023, the average shower time was reported as 8 minutes per day. Based on this data, yearly shower usage for a regular shower head is 34,944 litres and for a water saving shower head is 16,598.4 litres.
Based on the average water cost per litre (£0.003131115) and average sewerage cost per litre (£0.004808498), a normal shower head costs £278.19 per year and a low flow shower head costs £132.14 per year, a saving of £146.05.
The global population could save 600 billion litres of water per year by switching and showering 1 minute less per day reduces shower bills by 12.5 percent.
Using a water saving shower head in combination with reducing shower time by 1 minute saves over £160 per year.
Plumbing expert Peter Clayton, from Trade Plumbing, said: “Many Brits shy away from switching to a regulated flow shower head due to worries regarding shower quality and water pressure. However, water saving shower heads are known specifically to reduce water output while ensuring shower experience is maintained.
"Currently nearly 11 million Brits are struggling to pay their bills due to the cost of living crisis. Coupled with the recent news regarding the increase of water bills, switching to a low flow shower head is a simple change that can save a lot of well needed cash.
"If you’re looking to reduce your water usage then try minimising your time spent in the shower. Shaving as little as 1 minute off each shower can save an extra 12.5 percent on your original shower bill, meaning you’ll save over £160 a year when combined with a low flow showerhead."
Thames water plans to increase water bills by 40 percent over the next 5 years because it wants to increase spending by £1.1billion.
Mr Clayton continued: "From 2020-2021 average daily water usage rose by 10 litres per person, this is unattainable with three-quarters of Britain predicted to be seriously water-stressed by 2040. Around 50 percent of UK households have a water meter so if everyone switched to a water saving shower head it would save over 600 billion litres of water per year, that’s over 6 trillion litres in the space of a decade.
"Water is vital to maintaining life on Earth so it is important that everyone strives to save as much as possible in order to look after future generations”.
