Just turning on the tap is adding to the cost of electricity and gas bills. That’s the message from drinking water provider South East Water.
As the silent user of energy, just by cutting down on the amount of water used in homes and businesses will save money.
With the pressure on to look at ways to cut down on energy use, South East Water is highlighting a silent major user of energy.
By taking shorter showers or using appliances on the ECO setting means that less hot water is used, potentially reducing household bills by hundreds of pounds a year.
Cold water comes at a price too as collecting it, cleaning it and piping it to homes and businesses all takes electricity – not just a few watts.
Tanya Sephton, Customer Services Director said: “Water is the silent user of energy. Yes, we need water to keep ourselves and around us clean and warm, but we can make a difference by making a few small changes.
“According to a study carried out for us by the National Energy Action, almost half of us shower every day on average taking a whopping seven minutes.
“The report says that for a family of four, just by each person cutting down the showering time to four minutes, this could save £280 a year on the household energy bill. This would also save up to 52,000 litres of water a year, so not only saving you pounds off your water bill, but good news for the environment too.”
The two appliances in the kitchen which are on most people’s list of cannot do without are also silently eating electricity, if not used efficiently.
On average, the report says that a family’s washing machine is used 270 times a year. By simply switching from a 40 degree cycle to an ECO cycle, would save 23p on your energy bill each use – that’s £60 a year.
In addition, an ECO cycle also reduces the amount of water used – up to 48 litres, so that could be a saving off the water bill too.
For B rated dishwashers the data says that used five times a week, just by switching to the ECO programme could save, on average, around £83 a year.
Tanya added: “So you can see that by identifying where we are silently using electricity, and making a few small changes to cut down on the amount of water you and your family use, can save you hundreds of pounds on your energy bill too.
To find out more about how to save water and cut energy bills go to www.southeastwater.co.uk/waterandenergy (http://www.southeastwater.co.uk/waterandenergy)
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