The Holiday season is here again. It’s that time of the year when you get to see friends and family you have not seen in a long time. Everyone loves the holidays the food, fun, and laughter that fill every room in the house. The holidays are the one time in the year when we can afford to let go of our burdens and simply enjoy life.
But this is also the time when you can run up a lot of bills in your home. That’s because while everyone is busy enjoying the company of one another, your home’s plumbing is bearing the strain of having additional people in the house, explains NFI Management. Your bathrooms, kitchen, water heater, and drains will see more use at this time of the year than any other.
More pressure on your home’s plumbing systems will also place additional strain on your pocket, with the result that you may find yourself paying huge bills once the holidays are over. But given the chaotic scenes that characterize the home during this season, you may think it is not much you can do to avoid this.
But there is. There is a whole lot you can do to cut energy costs during the holiday if you take the steps early, before the influx of friends and family. The following steps will help you reduce the impact that increased use of your home’s plumbing during the holidays can have on your wallet.
Energy-saving tips for the holiday season
Reduce the shower’s flow rate
Is your Shower wasting water? Here is how to tell if it is. If the shower fills a 10-liter bucket in one minute or less, it is wasting water. When you are in the shower, that cascade of water may feel nice on your body, but in actuality, no one really needs that much water to wash. Replace your shower head with a more efficient one that flows at the rate of nine liters per minute or less.
Ease faucet flow
What about faucets in your home, can you do the same to them? You can significantly reduce the flow rate of faucets by installing flow control aerators on them. This will halve the volume of water you get from those faucets without adversely affecting water pressure. This is a good measure for faucets on sinks and tubs that don’t need to be filled up.
Check hot water temperature
To prevent the growth of bacteria inside your water heater, the hot water temperature inside the cylinder should be at 60°C. But to keep people from getting burned, the temperature should not be higher than 55°C at the faucet or shower. Setting your thermostat with these temperatures in mind will save you money, without affecting comfort.
Have your hot water system inspected
If your hot water system is not properly maintained, it will struggle to reach the same levels of efficiency it achieved in the past. Inefficient water heaters use more energy. Make sure the hot water system is not taking money out of your pocket unduly; get a qualified technician to inspect and repair all issues with the water heater system.
Cut down on shower time
It will be hard to get everyone to follow this step but even if you are the only one in the household who reduces total shower time by one minute, you could be saving as much as 220 liters of water every month. To keep yourself from getting carried away and losing track of time in the shower, use a timer or create a shower playlist on your favorite music app.
Do your laundry with cold water
Most of your clothes don’t really need to be washed in warm water; washing them in cold water will do just fine. As a matter of fact, it can actually help a lot of your clothes last longer since cold wash is the best option for the majority of fabrics. If the label on clothes doesn’t specifically instruct you to wash them in warm water, use cold water.
Choose water-efficient products
All water-utilizing appliances in your home should be energy efficient. Before you buy any new plumbing fixture or household appliance, check its energy rating. One of the most important places to do this, as far as your home’s plumbing is concerned, is when replacing your toilet. Toilets use a lot of water, so a water-efficient model can make a lot of difference in water usage.
Switch off the hot water when you travel
If you are going to be away from your home during the holiday season, you don’t want your hot water system to keep running the whole time that you are away. Switching off the system can save you tons of money. Just make sure that when you return home, you wait at least 12 hours after switching it back on before you take a bath. This will give the tank enough time to kill any bacteria that would have grown inside it.
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