LIFESTYLE: HOW TO DESIGN AN ECO-FRIENDLY BATHROOM

We’re all becoming more aware of how much energy we’re using in the home, partly because of worries about the environment and partly because it costs so much money. There are plenty of simple ways to cut energy usage around the home and save money, but there’s one area that people often forget about. Water usage is something that we take for granted and even though the bills aren’t as high as electricity or gas, you could still be wasting a lot of money. The bathroom is obviously the place where you use the most water so you should really consider how efficient it is. Next time you’re designing your bathroom, you should keep in mind how much water you’re using and make some of these simple changes to make it more energy efficient.


Bathtubs

It’s no surprise that showering is usually more efficient than taking a bath. As long as you’re showering for an average period of time, you’ll use less water than you would if you filled a bathtub. If you’re worried about water consumption and you use baths often, it might be worth switching to a shower and getting rid of the bathtub in favour of a standalone shower. You’ll use a lot less water and save yourself some money and it also opens up space in the bathroom which is an added bonus if you’ve got a particularly small bathroom.

Showerheads

Showering isn’t always guaranteed to be more efficient than having a bath, especially if you’re using an electric shower, so you need to be careful when you’re choosing one for your new bathroom. It’s best to get a thermostatic shower like the ones on www.drench.co.uk which are better at regulating temperature so you aren’t wasting energy heating the water. Try not to go for a large head that is going to use up a load of water either.

Toilets

Each flush of the toilet uses quite a bit of water, in fact, about a quarter of the average water use in a home is from flushing the toilet. Luckily, there are some simple solutions to cut that amount by a significant amount. Older toilets use so much more water than newer ones so if you haven’t replaced yours in a while, you definitely need to now. It’s also important that you keep your toilet in good condition and replace any leaking parts so you’re not wasting water unnecessarily.

Water Heating

The biggest bathroom energy waster is the water heating tank. Old tanks that keep the water heated constantly will have to keep heating the water over and over every time it cools. That’s so much wasted energy constantly heating water that you’re not even using. You’re much better off with a tankless heater that only heats water when you’re actually using it. If you really want to save money, you could even invest in a solar powered water heater. Visit www.hometips.com for a guide on choosing the right one.

Make these simple changes around the bathroom and you’ll save plenty of money on energy and water bills each month.  

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