Hot water: the secret energy guzzler!

Hot water is one of the secret energy guzzlers in the household. You need almost as much energy to heat water as you do to heat your rooms. With simple tricks you can keep the energy guzzler in check. And you save energy and money - as well as do something for the environment.

Carolin Ostermann

3 min

But why does hot water use so much energy?

A lot happens before water flows out of the shower or tap: Water is taken from rivers, lakes or from the groundwater. The water is pretreated, filtered and disinfected in a multi-stage process. The water is pumped, stored, collected, transported and cleaned many times along its way. All these installations and machines require an enormous amount of energy during construction and operation. And as everywhere, where energy flows, higher CO2 emissions are the result.

Massive CO2 emissions due to hot water

It is estimated that about 1% of all greenhouse gas emissions are due to the water industry as described above. And that only includes the water’s journey to your home. In fact, the lion’s share of the energy is consumed at home: namely when heating the hot water and distributing the water around the house. It is assumed that 5.5% of all CO2 emissions worldwide can be attributed to this energy consumption. An enormous amount!

Whoever saves on hot water, saves energy and money

Let us take a closer look at the household budget. Among other things, it includes the energy bill. Many people are unaware that water consumption accounts for a surprisingly large share of this: depending on the type of building, 10-45% of the total energy costs for hot water in Germany, 30% in England and 18% in the USA. The potential for savings is correspondingly high. In terms of energy costs, it therefore pays to save on hot water.

Showers and baths – here you can save hot water

But where is the greatest potential for saving on hot water? Definitively in the shower and in the bathroom. And the good thing is that is exactly where you can easily use less on hot water.

6 tips on how to save on hot water:

Take a shower instead of a bath
Shower for 1 minute less
Turn off the water – when applying soap, shampooing or brushing your teeth
Use a low-flow shower head or flow limiter – this saves up to 50% of the water
Wash your hands with cold water – your hands are clean before any hot water flows out of the tap. Each time, 1.5 litres of unused hot water cools down again in the pipe.
Set the tap to cold by default – eco taps are designed to be set to cold water in the center position.

Many thanks for your contribution

With every tip you take to heart, you are helping to reduce CO2 emissions. You can find more information on saving water in the household on our dedicated site.

Visit our focus page www.watersaving.com