Technology
Low-Carbon Showers
With the world’s climate continuing to spin out of control, it is more important than ever to meet sustainability targets.
Climate change and water scarcity is a global problem, and we are more aware than ever of the need to reduce our impact on the environment.
Water is becoming more scarce at a time when the population and the demand for water are ever increasing. As a result, the need to develop practical and innovative ways to reduce water and energy use and lower greenhouse gas emissions is crucial to safeguard the future of our planet.
According to the Energy Saving Trust, personal washing, i.e. showering and bathing, accounts for around 33% of the water used in the home, but it’s not just about the amount of water – it’s also about the amount of energy required to heat the water.
Hot water demand is the second largest consumer of domestic energy after space heating. Energy for personal washing alone accounts for a staggering 26.6% of the total household energy and is likely to increase due to the push for energy-saving home improvements such as cavity wall and floor insulation.
Figure 1.0: In the average UK household, hot water accounts for 36% of total energy usage, with the majority of this demand coming from showering.
Figure 2.0: This means that showering accounts for around 18% of total household energy use on average. This figure is likely to increase, with improvements in home insulation reducing the demand for space heating.
Rising Fuel Costs
Affordability is a very real issue.
Since water services were privatised in 1989, the average household water bill has risen 40% above inflation, peaking in 2014/15. Despite a slight reduction, the average water and sewerage bill today is around £397 a year.
The cost of energy has more than tripled in the last 20 years, outstripping all other services. With the latest energy price cap, the annual bill for a household using a typical amount of gas and electricity in the UK rose to £1,849 per year.
To put this into context, the average UK household spends 5-10% of its total income on water and energy bills. For those living in the poorest areas and communities, this percentage is a lot higher; the harsh reality is that around 6.6 million (nearly 1 in every 4) households in the UK live in fuel poverty.
Carbon Emissions
When it comes to personal hygiene, showering is generally better for the environment than bathing. However, a shower’s carbon footprint is dependent on a number of circumstances, such as duration, flow rate, and how the water is heated. When comparing heating fuels in a standard dwelling, gas is the cleanest of the fossil fuels – for each unit of energy of heat, its CO₂ emissions are over a third less than electricity from the grid. This is mainly because of the heat wasted at power stations during the process of generating electricity. However, as electricity is generated more and more from renewable sources like wind farms and hydroelectricity, this will become less of a problem.
Water companies use a lot of energy to treat water, pump it to and from the home and then treat it before returning it to our rivers. Showers that use less water reduce this impact. Electric showers, for example, work by only heating the amount of water that is required per shower; the cold water from the mains is pumped through the shower unit where an electric element heats the water very quickly, so there is little wasted hot water compared to heating a large hot water cylinder. The downside is that electric showers have low flow rates (maximum around 5 l/min, compared to 10 l/min for a mixer shower) and tend to provide a lacklustre experience.
By installing water and energy-saving products such as Kelda Technology’s water-efficient showers, it is possible to significantly reduce carbon emissions and save money on bills – with the benefit of having a better showering experience.
