After a spell of scorching weather, the largest housebuilder in the country has unveiled its efforts to help customers conserve over 126,000 litres of water annually – equivalent to an extra daily bath for more than four years!
According to Water UK, the average UK resident uses nearly 142 litres of water each day.
All Barratt David Wilson Homes, including those in Orchards Rise (Wichelstowe), come equipped with cutting-edge water and energy-saving technologies as standard. These features have the potential to reduce water consumption by up to 26% per person per day compared to the national average.
As temperatures rise and heatwaves become increasingly frequent, water scarcity has become a pressing concern. It is crucial that we exercise caution in our water usage. Barratt David Wilson Homes has compiled a list of ten invaluable tips to help homeowners make small changes and use less water in their households:
- Invest in water-saving showerheads, which can save approximately six litres per shower by blending air with water to maintain pressure.
- Opt for toilets with a dual flush button, consuming just four litres for a short flush and six litres for a longer flush, as opposed to the average traditional flush of 13 litres.
- Install cistern displacement devices, potentially saving around one litre of water per flush.
- Consider swapping full baths, which use around 80 litres, for two-minute showers that consume approximately 20% less water. Trimming a minute off your shower time can save homeowners around £120 annually.
- Remember to turn off taps while brushing your teeth to avoid wasting up to six litres of water per minute.
- Breaking the habit of pre-rinsing dishes before loading them into the dishwasher can save homeowners over 1,000 litres of water each year, eliminating a wastage amounting to £195 million annually.
- Rather than rinsing fruit and vegetables under a running tap, fill a sink bowl with water and reuse it to nourish your plants.
- Prioritise running full loads of laundry and utilise the Eco setting on your washing machine. While these cycles tend to be longer, consider running them overnight. When purchasing a washing machine, assess its water and energy usage—certain models consume less than 7.5 litres of water per kilogram.
- Only boil the amount of water needed in your kettle, conserving water, money, and energy.
- Embrace alternative gardening techniques that avoid sprinklers. Employing disused cooking water provides plants with valuable nutrients. Alternatively, installing a water butt in your garden allows you to reuse whatever little rainfall occurs!
Andrea Pilgrim, Sales Director for Barratt Bristol, remarked, “Given the scale of our activity as the UK’s largest housebuilder, water use in our homes is significant; last year we built 17,856 new homes across the country, and the residents of these homes use approximately two billion litres of water each year.
“To limit water use and increase efficiency we install the latest A+/A rated water efficient appliances in all our homes as standard. These appliances enable our customers to significantly reduce their water consumption, which is especially important at the moment as some areas of the country have either implemented a hosepipe ban – such as Cornwall and some parts of North Devon – or are considering it.”
Louise Ware, Sales Director for Barratt David Wilson Homes South West, added, “We know that household water consumption is driven by user behaviour. This is why we provide all of our customers with information about how they can make the most of the appliances we provide, along with further advice on lifestyle modifications they could consider to further reduce their water usage. We have also collaborated with the Home Builders Federation to create a standardised pack of water-saving information for the buyers of new homes.”
For information on the range of properties available throughout Wiltshire visit https://www.barratthomes.co.uk/ and https://www.dwh.co.uk/
