Water efficiency delivers both sustainability and financial benefits for customers, helping to better protect a valuable natural resource and support household budgets that are currently under pressure with the rising cost of living. Chloe Wesenlund, hansgrohe’s Channel Marketing Manager for Trade, outlines some solutions installers can recommend to reduce water (and energy) consumption in the bathroom and delight eco-conscious clients.
Many households continue to face financial pressures as energy bills remain historically high. According to Water UK, the average annual water bill now stands at £473, causing consumers to increasingly consider ways on how to reduce water consumption levels in the home.
Alongside concerns about the growing expense of water for everyday use, consumer awareness of and interest in environmental issues is also on the rise. News headlines around summer shortages reinforce the importance of preserving stocks of a natural resource we all fundamentally rely upon.
As a result, overall household water consumption and, in particular, the role of the bathroom space is in the spotlight. Not wanting to compromise on a great showering experience, but mindful of the need to better manage the impact of their water use, consumers are on the search for bathroom product solutions that maximise water efficiencies, without compromise.
The technology included in the latest eco showers and showerheads means that installers can recommend proven water-saving options whilst guaranteeing a level of bathroom performance and luxury that end-users still demand.
And, at a time when energy bills remain top of mind for many, less water used inevitably means less water that needs heating. Installers who can therefore proactively promote products with integrated sustainable technology will likely directly assist their clients to save money on their energy bills.
Smart technology
The first place to start when seeking to reduce water usage in the bathroom is to undertake the replacement of showerheads or other bathroom fittings with eco-friendly alternatives that are now readily available.
Many hansgrohe products benefit from EcoSmart technology, which keeps water consumption under control by reducing the flow rate to nine litres of water a minute at three bar pressure. This can save at least 43% of water compared to a conventional shower head.
EcoSmart ensures a constant water flow, even with low or fluctuating water pressure, to ensure user experience will remain the same. This has been proven through customer feedback too, with 9 out of 10 customers agreeing that the Pulsify Select S hand shower with EcoSmart technology still results in a great showering experience, despite using less water.
What’s more, by switching to a water saving shower from hansgrohe, a four-person household could save over 1,500 kilowatt hours of energy per year linked to water heating purposes – amounting to around 8% of average total energy consumption.
This technology has also been taken one step further with the introduction of an EcoSmart+ option, available for certain showering products and basin mixers. For example, our latest design-led Tecturis S and Tecturis E basin mixer taps – when equipped with EcoSmart+ technology – can reduce water consumption to a maximum of four litres per minute at three bar pressure. This delivers a further 20% reduction in flow compared to hansgrohe EcoSmart products – while maintaining the same level of comfort.
Sustainable innovations
Ultimately, sustainability is not only about consuming less, but also about consuming smarter.
We can make energy and water reduction readily available to consumers, and through well-thought-out design concepts, we can also influence consumer behaviour to make daily sanitation rituals more sustainable.
For example, when using a basin mixer most of us will use the tap in the middle position for small hygiene tasks such as washing hands or brushing our teeth. However, on most basin mixers this means the hot water system will start up when the tap is in the middle position, when hot water isn’t necessarily required by the user.
With hansgrohe’s CoolStart technology, when the tap is set to the middle position CoolStart will only allow a flow of cold water, but once the lever is deliberately turned, the hot water will then be sent through the pipelines. This reduces the heating of water when not needed.
In terms of showering products, the next step in sustainable product design will see a combination of water and energy consumption technology with the specification of recycled and recyclable manufacturing materials.
For example, the new Pulsify Planet Edition is the latest in hansgrohe’s ever-expanding range of sustainable bathroom products. Equipped with EcoSmart+ technology, Pulsify Planet has just six litres of water flowing through the hand shower per minute, without compromising showering comfort.
It also considers the entire product lifecycle in the design with a handle created from recycled plastic. Made from end-of-life products, and rejects, which are then shredded and cleaned, recycled plastic is a cleaner alternative to petroleum and fossil-based primary plastics and means energy consumption is significantly reduced during production.
