Fine tune your system

You can reduce wasted hot water at home with easy, low-cost actions that mean you’re only heating what you need. Find out how to fine tune your hot water system, and how to unlock further savings. 

Easy ways to fine tune your hot water system

• Fix dripping hot taps — Replacing the washer or fitting on a dripping hot tap only costs a few dollars, and avoids unnecessary waste. 
• Reduce your shower flow — The ordinary showerhead typically makes up the largest percentage of indoor water use, accounting for about 30% (Source: BRANZ). If your shower fills a 10 litre bucket in less than a minute, it's wasting water. Change your shower head for one with a more efficient flow rate of 8 to 9 litres a minute or less (Water Labelling Scheme Rating of 3 star or higher). Or, install an inexpensive shower flow restrictor.
• Ease your tap flow — Flow control aerators for taps cost between $10 and $30 and can halve the volume of water you use while still giving good pressure. They’re great for taps over sinks or tubs that aren't regularly filled up, so the water flow volume is less important.
• Set mixer taps to cold — Mixer taps can use hot water without you even knowing it, as the hot water will flow into the pipes automatically if it’s not set to cold.
• Wrap your hot water cylinder and pipe — Pre-2002 electric hot water cylinders aren't well insulated and should have a cylinder wrap. You should also insulate the first metre of hot water pipe coming off your cylinder. Cylinder wraps cost around $60 and pipe insulation is about $5 a metre from hardware stores – but this can save you around $150 a year on your energy bills so will pay itself off in under a year. Note that you can't put a cylinder wrap on a gas hot water system.
• Install a thermostat — Smart hot water thermostats map your hot water use and will automatically turn your cylinder off or down when hot water isn’t needed. This can save you around $70 a year on your energy bills.Talk to your electrician about which smart thermostat is suitable for your hot water cylinder. Make sure the one you select has the capability to communicate with the grid and respond to electricity price signals. 
• Check your settings — Make the most of the settings you have on your appliances that use hot water to ensure they aren’t using hot water unnecessarily. Your washing machine and dishwasher may have different temperature settings that use less energy. 
• Use a timer  — If you have a time of use power plan you may be able to save more by setting a timer and shifting the energy use to an off-peak time when energy is cheaper (or in some cases, free).