From taking long hot baths and power showers, to washing up with the tap running, many of us don’t realise that our every-day water usage affects our energy consumption, increases our utility bills, and impacts the environment.

Heating water requires a huge amount of energy. If you have a conventional gas or oil boiler, then to generate this level of heat, you’ll be emitting a lot of carbon monoxide. But if you have a renewable heating system like a heat pump, then you’ll be emissions free.

Here are eight quick tips for reducing your water consumption, energy usage and utility bills.

1) Take showers and avoid baths

Baths are big water wasters. A full bath uses approx. 80 litres of water, whereas a five minute shower only uses about 45 litres of water. Also, remember that running the shower for a few minutes before you step in also wastes a lot of water and energy. You can now buy shower egg timers to remind you to keep your showers short; the recommended time is four minutes.

2) Change your shower head

A water efficient shower head could save a four-person household around £200 a year on water and energy bills (if you have a water metre). It works by reducing the flow, while keeping the pressure up, so producing the feeling of a more powerful shower than it is. These shower heads are best used on power showers with a high flow rate and shouldn’t be used on low pressure electric showers.

3) Turn off the taps when you brush your teeth

A running tap uses 6 litres of water per minute. If you follow the guidance of brushing your teeth for two minutes and leave the tap running, that’s 12 litres of water wasted each time you brush them.

4) Wash up wisely

A huge amount of water is wasted by people washing up while leaving the tap running. Either put the plug in or use a washing up bowl to save water.

5) Use your dishwasher

It’s hard to believe but dishwashers are a greener choice to clean your dishes than washing up by hand. Washing up in the sink can use up to 100 litres of water if you leave the tap running, whereas a new dishwasher uses around 10 – 15 litres per load. And if you run them at night when the electricity rate is lower, you’ll save even more energy.

6) Make sure you fix dripping taps

A dripping tap wastes up to 4 litres a day, when it drips every second. So if your taps drip, replace the washers immediately.

7) Reduce your washing machine temperature

Reducing the temperature saves money on heating water to wash your load. If you wash your clothes at 30 degrees, it will use 40% less energy heating the water than higher temperatures.

8) Don’t boil too much water in the kettle

Britons boil the kettle on average five times a day, so try and measure out the exact water you need for your tea and coffee first. Overfilling the kettle is a big energy waster, and could see you waste water too.

Try making these small adjustments in your daily water and energy consumption, and you could see the savings pay off.