Changes in weather patterns and rainfall, combined with an increasing interest in sustainable living, have led large numbers of Americans to implement strategies for saving electricity and water. Knowing how to save energy in the bathroom will not only reduce your electricity costs, but it will also make you a more responsible citizen.
Here are our top tips for saving energy in your bathroom:
Choose the right water heater
Heating water on average uses as much as 18 percent of the total energy in your home. It makes sense, therefore, to install the most energy-efficient water heater you can find. While gas heaters will generally speaking cost less to run, electric heaters are typically more efficient. There is of course a third alternative: fitting a tank-less water heater that only heats the water when you need it.
Fit energy-efficient lighting and solar panels
Traditional incandescent lights use a lot more energy than energy-efficient bathroom bulbs like LEDs. You should be able to save up to 80 percent of the electricity used for lighting by fitting LED bulbs. These bulbs also last much longer than traditional ones, which will save even more money in the long run.
Installing one or more solar panels to power your bathroom lights is another great way to reduce electricity usage.
Switch to a high-efficiency sink mixer and showerhead
Replacing your current faucet combo, sink mixer, and shower head with high-efficiency models can drastically reduce your water and energy usage. The latest models on the market can deliver similar performance to older models while saving a lot of electricity (and money) in the long run.
Install timers or motion sensors
If you have kids or elderly people in the home, you will no doubt have noticed that they often forget to switch off the bathroom lights when they leave. This is a complete waste of energy. The solution is to connect timer switches or motion sensors to bathroom lights so they will switch off after a fixed period, or as soon as no motion is detected in the bathroom.
Unplug devices that are not in use
If yours is a typical household, the odds are that you have quite a few electrical devices in the bathroom. And now for the interesting bit: are you aware that unplugging any electrical device that’s not in use can save a surprising amount of energy over the next year? Most of them, from electric razors to hairdryers to washing machines, use minute amounts of electricity even when they are not in use. Because it’s associated with electrical devices in idle or standby mode, this phenomenon is often called ‘standby’ electricity. Some people call it ‘vampire’ or ‘phantom’ electricity.
Switch off the exhaust fan
The exhaust fan in the bathroom has a very useful purpose: to remove humid, hot air from the room for a healthier, more comfortable environment. There is no reason, however, for the fan to run 24/7. It only takes about 15 to 20 minutes to remove the humidity from the bathroom. Leaving it on longer is simply a waste of expensive energy. A timer switch will probably be the easiest way to deal with this issue.
Change bad bathroom habits
By simply changing a few bad habits you can save yourself a lot of money over the next year. You might be surprised to realize how much energy is wasted by one or more of the following:
- Opening the shower tap and then brushing your teeth while it’s running all the time
- Taking 15-minute showers while a 5-minute shower is perfectly adequate
- Not fixing leaky faucets. A faucet leaking hot water can run up an energy bill of up to $33 a year
Sources:
https://www.efficiencyns.ca/tools-resources/tip/11-tips-save-energy-bathroom/
https://blog.constellation.com/2019/07/25/energy-efficient-bathroom-tips/
