With cost of living pressures impacting many of us, there are more people looking for ways to save money. even while in the bathroom. Can you save money while enjoying a shower and taking care of other matters, while not forgoing a bit of luxury, like having warm towels thanks to a heated towel rail? Yes you can, and Eskimo Heat is going to show you how.
10 ways to save costs in the bathroom
- One of the key ways to save costs in your bathroom, isn’t in your bathroom at all. It’s your hot water heater. How long your water heater will last will depend on a range of factors, such as type and quality, but expect to get around eight to 15 year’s use. When it’s time for a change, install the most energy efficient model you can afford as it will save you a lot in ongoing costs.
- A simple way to reduce water and water heating costs, and do your bit for the environment, is to reduce the amount of time you leave water on. For example, by having shorter showers and turning off the tap when brushing your teeth and shaving.
- As we highlighted in the intro, saving money is important but we don’t want to go completely without luxuries. A heated towel rail is a great example. The key tip to reducing ongoing costs when it comes to heated towel rails is to use a timer, so that they’re not running all day. We’ll have more on heated towel rails and costs at the end of this post.
- If you’re renovating or retrofitting your bathroom, make sure you choose low water use options. For example, a water-efficient shower head can save about 5, 10 or even more litres of water per minute. What about those that don’t like weak showers? Don’t worry, a well-designed, low-flow shower head can deliver a strong shower as well.
- Toilets and hand mixers are other products where water saving can be achieved. According to the Government of South Australia, potential savings by using water-saving shower heads, toilets and mixers instead of water guzzling products are over $150 per year per person if you have a 4-minute shower or over $230 per year per person for 10-minute showers. For a four-person household that’s a potential saving of nearly $1000 in a year!
- You spend quite a lot of time in the bathroom and if your lighting isn’t energy-efficient you’re spending more than you should. Replace your old lighting with energy-efficient options such as LED.
- If your mixer, shower head or toilet leaks, get it fixed straight away as it’s just wasting water. If it’s a hot water tap, you could be wasting the equivalent costs of one person taking a shower every day.
- If you’re tossing up between having a bath or a shower, choose the shower. Even if you enjoy a long shower, you’re likely to use less water and, most importantly, less hot water, than by taking a bath.
- Most of us love our gadgets and in the bathroom these can include items such as electric toothbrushes, shavers, hair straighteners and hair dryers. However, they will add to your energy bills, so turn them off when not in use and unplug them from the power. For rechargeable appliances, unplug devices when they are fully charged.
- Nobody likes stepping on cold tiles in winter, so heated flooring may be tempting if you’re renovating your bathroom, however, it will add to your energy costs. Wearing your slippers into the bathroom doesn’t cost you a thing!
Rack up the savings with a heated towel rail
As we mentioned in point 3, while saving money is important, it doesn’t mean you have to go with luxuries like a heated towel rail. By installing a timer on your heated towel rail and using the timer wisely, you can save a lot of money. How much?
While the energy output of heated towel rails does vary, 200-watts is reasonably standard. Run it every hour of every day for a year, and you’ll rack up over $400 in electricity. Cut this back to around four hours a day, however, and you’ll only spend around $72 a year.
Purchase an energy-efficient heated towel rail
Just like taps, shower heads and toilets, you can also purchase heated towel rails that are more energy-efficient.
Take Eskimo Heat’s Gordon for example. Its design and materials mean that it can get to operating temperature much quicker than most models and dry towels in around one-third of the time. What’s more, it can hold four large towels or bath mats. Even the largest standard horizontal towel rails can’t match this capacity, without the towels being folded, which makes drying less efficient.
To find out more about the benefits of the Gordon heated towel rail, and how you can save energy costs, go to the Eskimo Heat website.
