19 October 2023 , 09:00
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As temperatures begin to plunge across the UK, many Brits are spending longer in the shower in a bid to stay warm - but this daily routine could be breaking the bank.
An electric shower uses an average of 8.5kW of energy, meaning Brits spend around 37p per 10-minute wash. Ideal Home notes that this shower uses approximately 150 litres of water - working out as 25p per shower - meaning the combined figure totals a hefty 62p.
When it comes to gas showers, Nigel Best at Electrician Courses 4U told the magazine that gas is capped at 7p per kilowatt-hour, adding “it costs a lot less for water to be heated for a traditional shower”. In this case, a 10-minute shower works out at around 9p per use, and combined with the cost of water, totals around 34p.
However, swapping your 10-minute soak to a rapid four minute wash could save you nearly £130 every year. According to the Energy Saving Trust, showering for just four minutes could save a typical household £65 a year on their bills – and an extra £65 on their water bill, if metered.
Yorkshire Water echoes this advice, adding: “Instead of having an 8-minute shower, cut this in half to four minutes. The average household will have 754 showers a year, and if they’re all 8-minute showers, this is costing £256.36. By having 4-minute showers instead, you could save £128.18 on showers a year.”
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The water supply company highlights that the average Brit has three baths a week, costing the average household a staggering £542.88 a year. Cutting this down to one bath a week could make a hefty saving of £361.92, or switching from three baths to five showers every week could see a savings of £189.28 a year.
Another money-saving suggestion is to try the navy shower, which Nigel says “lasts three minutes or under and comes from crew members having to conserve water and energy on naval ships.” It involves turning on the water to get wet, before quickly turning it off when using soap and shampoo, then turning it on again to rinse off.
What’s more, the Energy Saving Trust explains that replacing an inefficient shower head could save the average family around £30 on their gas bills and £30 on their water bills each year. Nigel told Ideal Home that energy efficient shower heads can save up to 50 percent more water compared to regular shower heads.