Hot water – one of the biggest uses of energy in your home

The recent energy price hikes have been at the forefront of our minds this winter, with energy bills having skyrocketed across Europe in 2022.  Many of us are wondering how best to get through these colder months. 

This week, it’s Big Energy Saving Week– a national campaign which aims to help people cut their fuel bills.  And as we’re experiencing another cold snap over the coming days, we thought it would be a good time to remind ourselves that if we use less (hot) water, we can reduce our outgoings. 

Did you know that heating hot water is one of the biggest uses of energy in your home?

Typically our energy bills tend to rise in winter when we put the heating on. As you may have suspected, heating our homes uses the most power in our homes – making up roughly a third of our bills.  This is closely followed by heating the water for showers, baths and hot water from the tap – up to 18% of our utility bills according to EcoWatch.

And if your home is gas central heated this is almost certainly where most (or all) of your gas spend is going.

The true cost of hot water should also take account of the cost of the water supply itself, which in some cases can be as high as the cost of heating it.

At the end of the day, water is intrinsically linked to energy. It therefore follows that using less water can reduce consumption and bills and go some way to help the current cost of living crisis. 

There are a number of ways to cut how much gas we use to heat our water. Most boilers have a dial with which you can change the water temperature. So it’s worth looking at turning it down a bit. This is especially the case if the water comes out of your hot taps very hot – there is no point having the water come out of your taps too hot to touch.

Saving water can also reduce the impact on your local environment and reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by using less energy to pump, heat and treat the water.

What prompts people to use less water?

Smart meters, like Sonic, which relay that reading live to a display, make people immediately aware of how much water they are using.  

According to the Energy Saving Trust, people who take an active interest in their own usage, tend to save a significant amount on their water bills if they are provided with the relevant information (this stimulates them to make better choices) – and that’s before you consider what hidden water leaks might be costing you.

Sonic can work out which of your appliances take the most water to run, helping you to save money and stay in control of your bill – all while actively detecting, preventing and stopping leaks in their tracks.  Hands down, the easiest way to save water!

We discovered that once our users had Sonic in place for three months or more in their own homes, there was a consistent drop of average water usage month by month, resulting in households using almost 15% less water than they did before installation.

There are so many ways to reduce our water usage and ultimately cut our utility bills.  It’s just something we consciously need to do.  And Big Energy Saving Week is a good time to start!