Stop cash going down the drain

Hot water systems are huge power users, accounting for almost a third of household electricity use, and showers are by far the biggest hot water hogs in most homes.

Fitting a water-efficient showerhead can halve your hot water use and you won't even notice the difference – except to your power bill.

Switching from a 1 star to a 3 star rated showerhead can save a family of three $90 a year! Plus you'll all be reducing your household's carbon pollution by 400 kg each.

Installing a water-efficient showerhead saves water as well as power:

• save about 14,500 litres of water each year – that's about a quarter of the water used in a good sized backyard pool
• use as little as seven litres of water per minute compared with a standard showerhead which uses as much as 25 litres of water per minute - that's less than one-third of the water!
• take shorter showers and you'll multiply the power and water savings
• fix dripping taps too – a hot tap, dripping 45 times per minute, wastes around 1,000 litres of hot water each month, the equivalent of ten bathtubs or more than $25 per year
• look for the WELS water efficiency ratings label when you're buying any water using product - the more stars on the WELS rating label the better.