UK households could slash up to £135 per year on their energy bills with a simple four-minute change. Energy experts say reducing the amount of time you spend in the shower by just a few minutes can yield significant savings on both your energy and water bills.
The Energy Saving Trust says limiting your shower time to just four minutes can save a typical household £60 per year in energy costs – plus an extra £75 on water costs, if you’re on a water meter. In total, that amounts to up to £135 worth of savings over the course of a year.
To make further easy savings, the Energy Saving Trust says giving up a bubble bath at least once a week in favour of a four-minute shower can give the typical household in England, Scotland and Wales up to £9 per year back, while those in Northern Ireland could save up to £10 annually.
The Energy Saving Trust said: “When most of us think of the bathroom, we might not think of it as a room in the home that uses a lot of energy. But did you know that our water use at home contributes to our energy bills and our household carbon emissions?
“Saving water can not only reduce your water bill (if you’re on a water meter), but it can also reduce your energy bills and your impact on the environment.”
Of course giving up long showers isn’t for you, then you could opt to install a water-saving shower head instead to help cut costs. According to Martin Lewis’ Money Saving Expert (MSE), you can get one of these fitted for free in England and Wales if you’re not on a water meter, and this can save a typical household around £50 a year.
The advice comes as both energy and water bills have gone up for millions of UK households from today, April 1, as a swathe of price hikes kick in.
Annual energy bills for households on a standard variable tariff in England, Wales and Scotland will increase by 6.4% from April 1 as Ofgem increases its price cap from £1,738 per year to £1,849 – an annual rise of £111 on average.
The unit price of gas is increasing from 6.34p per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to 6.99p per kWh while electricity is going up from 24.86p/kWh to 27.03p/kWh.
The price cap sets the maximum rate per unit and standing charge that customers can be charged by suppliers for their energy use – not the total bill, so the more energy you use, the more you pay.
Water bills for households in England and Wales are also rising by an average of £123 per year from April 1 – a 26% hike – with further price rises planned over the next five years.
Regulator Ofwat has allowed companies to raise average bills by 36% or £157 in total over the next five years to £597 by 2030 to help fund a £104 billion upgrade for the sector.
Some regions are facing higher rises than others, with Southern Water hiking bills by 47%, whereas Anglican Water and Northumbrian Water are only rising by 19%, according to Water UK.
