Think Energy Efficiency
Hot water represents about 12% of a home’s energy bill. It is possible to use less hot water by barely changing your habits.
Use low-flow faucets
There are many high performance products on the market today, such as products with WaterSense® certification. They ensure a maximum water flow of 5.7 litres per minute while being just as effective as standard faucets. They will reduce your water consumption by 40% compared to traditional products and will not sacrifice your comfort. This translates into tens of thousands of litres of water saved every year!
Get your own water-saving kit
On the website of Hydro-Québec, you can get your own kit with water- and energy-saving products at a very affordable price; the kit includes a low-flow showerhead and faucet aerators.
Find out if your municipality is currently participating in this program: you could get an additional discount. According to Hydro-Québec, you could save thousands of litres of water every year* by installing water-saving products.
| Number of persons per household |
Water savings (l) | Equivalent of 22.7-litre bottles (5 gallons) |
Money savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 21 564 | 950 | $ 51 |
| 4 | 43 804 | 1 930 | $ 100 |
| 6 | 63 342 | 2 790 | $ 148 |
* Water and energy consumption and savings vary according to the characteristics of the installation and the needs of the household. Calculations are based on: a cost of 7.58¢/kWh for electric power, a reference flow rate of 9.5 l/min for showerheads, a reference flow rate of 8.3 l/min for aerators, an 8-min shower per person per day and on other factors.
A few numbers… to think about!
| Water consumption | Activity |
|---|---|
| 25 litres of water | 5 minutes of washing dishes under the tap |
| 10 to 20 litres of water | One washing cycle with a dishwasher |
| 75 to 150 litres of water | One bath |
| 35 litres of water | One 6-minute shower with a low-flow showerhead |
| 70 to 90 litres of water | One washing in a front-loading washer |
| 150 litres of water | One washing in a top-loading washer |
| 800 litres of water, or the equivalent of four bathtubs of water | One drop leaking from a faucet every second for one month |
Repair your leaky faucets
One drop of hot water leaking every second from a faucet over a period of one month means 800 litres of hot water that go to waste. It is the equivalent of 4 bathtubs of water!
Repair your leaky faucets then take the time to install aerators which will reduce your faucets’ flow rate.
Use a front-load washer
Front-loading washing machines use 70 to 90 litres of water per load. A top-loading washer needs twice that amount, which means about 150 litres per load.
If you need to change your washing machine, select a front-loading model with the ENERGY STAR® logo.
Also, make it a habit to wash and rinse your clothes in cold water: selecting the cold water cycle on a front-load washer can save about 50 litres of hot water.
Take a shower instead of a bath
Taking a bath means using between 75 and 150 litres of water. A 6-minute shower with a low-flow showerhead only uses 35 litres of water.
Some showerheads use up to 14 litres of water per minute while others limit their consumption to 9.5 litres or even 5.7 litres per minute. They can easily cut your water consumption in half.
Clean your dishes without wasting water
Cleaning your dishes for five minutes under the tap uses 25 litres of water while a cleaning cycle from a dishwasher needs around 13 litres of water.
If you hand-wash your dishes, do not let the water run continuously. Use a small plastic tub or the sink filled with water.
If you are using a dishwasher, fill it up to capacity every time and try not to rinse your dishes too much before placing them in the machine! An ENERGY STAR® dishwasher can also help you reduce your hot water consumption.
Source: Transition Énergétique Québec
