Water Challenge
The challenge
Read the pdf document below to find out what the Eco Family are up to in April:
Water (pdf)
Eco Family diary
Our challenge for April was to be more energy efficient in the home. As a family we were asked to reduce our water consumption and measure how much we would save.
As a family we were interested in the ways to save on water usage, especially being on a water meter as we only pay for what we use, allowing us to be more conscious of reducing our water usage. Saying that, we all take using water for granted mainly because it is conveniently accessible by just turning on the taps in our homes (what about all those developing countries that have to travel miles to fetch their water). We can easily forget that we are wasting and costing ourselves more money when we leave taps running or have a leak we just don’t get around to fixing.
There was a short task to see how much we thought certain areas in the home might use by using action cards and then by placing them alongside the water scale which started at 0 litres and went right through to 250 litres. This was an estimate so it was all about your own perception on how key areas in the home might consume water levels, ie. how much a washing machine or taking a bath uses. There was an answer sheet to compare our guesses which we were surprised that we could use more water than we actually realise.
We also had water saving devices installed in the home by a company called Waterwise, which was fantastic (big thank you to them as they installed it quickly and gave me lots of advice) as it gave an added benefit of being more efficient in our mission to save as much money on our water bill. The water devices were quick and simple and needed little preparation in getting it up and running. Firstly, we had an eco shower head fitted which looked and worked like a normal shower head but the benefits is that you will cut your water usage to half of that whilst taking a shower. My shower usage measured 6 litres per minute prior to fitting the device, but once installed measured a happy 3 litres (now think about all those showers you will take...it really does add up) so it was crucial for my family to have one of these fitted. The good thing about it is that it can be easily purchased from any DIY outlet and prices start from about £40 but is a well worth investment to have as the device will eventually pay for its self in the long run through reduced water bills. Secondly, we had an adaptor fitted to the cistern in the toilet to allow us to also cut the water flow to half each time we used the flush.
Other ways we tried to be conscious with our water intake was when we were watering our flowers we would use a sprinkling watering can when watering or to recycle the water for instance using left over unused water, also making sure all taps were securely turned off when not in use as well as not having the tap running unnecessarily whilst brushing our teeth.
When we do our water audit, we as a family are hoping to have saved a considerable amount as it is good to know that you can do your bit for the environment but also the good feeling of rewarding yourself with the money you have saved whilst reducing your water consumption.
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