2031: a land odyssey – article in New Home Buyer

Use less water in the bathroom, kitchen and laundry

Since July 2006, the federal Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (WELS) Scheme has been used to rank devices according to their water efficiency. WELS ratings, which are organized according to a number of blue stars, must now appear on all showers, taps, toilets, washing machines and dishwashers. WELS replaced the voluntary “A” system, which many people still refer top when they describe “AAA-rated” taps or showerheads.

Building a new home is the perfect time to take advantage of the increased information available through the WELS scheme. You’re going to have to choose tapware, toilets and appliances – WELS makes it easier to compare products and make more informed choices.

According to WELS, by choosing to install a water efficient showerhead instead of a regular showerhead, you could save about 48 litres of water per eight minute shower. This translates to savings of about 14500 litres of water per household per year. It also translates to savings of about 47% in hot water heating costs over a decade. Similarly, an efficient tap will use about one third less water, and an dual-flush toilet will use up to 8 litres less water per flush.

It’s a similar story with taps. In fact, as well as more water efficient, taps and mixers can also be more energy efficient, by limiting the maximum temperature of the water flow.

So, you spend as little time as humanly possible in the laundry – how much water could you possibly be using?

Quite a bit, actually. According to Sydney Water, the washing machine is the third largest user of water in the average household. If you have to install a rainwater tank to meet BASIX requirements, your laundry will already be using less potable water. However, you can enhance this saving by purchasing a water efficient washing machine. New efficient machines will use only one third of the water of an older machine.

Get in quick, and you’ll also be able to take advantage of a state government rebate. Unlike the rainwater tank rebate, which only applies to home owners installing tanks in existing homes, the washing machine rebate is open to anyone who purchases a washing machine with at least a four star WELS rating until July 31 2008.
While you can’t get a rebate, you can make similar savings with your choice of dishwasher in your new kitchen - according to WELS, a water efficient dishwasher will use half the water of an average model.