These 4 top tips can help lower future running costs and help our planet too, contributing to sustainability goals and increasing water efficiency.
Take a moment for your water as it can be an untapped source for savings - and can cut carbon emissions linked to your business, charity or public sector site.
- Do you need to use all the tap water you currently do? Not everything needs tap water – for example rainwater can be used for watering plants and shrubs in your grounds, as well as used to wash down hard areas at sites (and water butts to collect it are very low cost). Fill up dishwashers and use eco settings too.
- Explore where water can help you lower your future utility costs: Low-cost push taps and aerators can cut flow rates by around 16 litres a minute, so less hot water use means lower energy costs. Showers can be reduced to 6 litres a minute – making a big difference for workplaces, gyms, spas and leisure facilities. Less water heated helps the environment too due to less carbon emissions.
- Get closer to your water data to see the opportunities and more benefits. Data loggers can be attached to water meters and feed daily information on water use at sites into a smart online portal. It’s helped organisations in recent months.
In January 2022, a site had a 12 cubic metre an hour water leak but was not sure where on their pipes. They contacted Water Plus Advanced Services, who located the source of the issue and carried out the repair work. The leak, which data loggers on the water meter and the online portal also tracked, would have cost £22,000 in a month.
- Do you know where your waste – including your wastewater - goes? Checking your pipes and your site/s regularly, including noting monthly meter readings, if it’s safe to access, will mean you can react quickly to leaks and issues – not only cutting water waste but also limiting increases in additional costs. A leaky loo can waste up to 400 litres of water a day – that’s equal to 5 full bath-tubs.
Plus, there’s carbon emissions linked to the wastewater from your site which is taken away and treated once you’ve used it – and carbon emissions linked to the water that you get through your taps – so reducing either of these/any waste helps you towards Net Zero and beyond!
You can read more about what you can do with water – and how Water Plus can work with your organisation, at: www.water-plus.co.uk/sustainability .
