Taps, showers & baths
Taps
Taps can contribute to a third of office water use.
Outlet devices, such as sprays and aerators, fitted to taps can
contribute to water savings by up to 80%. Water-saving cartridges have
been developed for single lever mixer taps, which default to water
saving positions that have to be overridden to get stronger flows.
For
commercial or municipal washrooms, electronic sensor taps and timed
turn-off push taps prevent wastage and flooding from taps being left
running, provided they are well maintained.
Showers & Baths
Showers can use a third of the water of a bath, although power showers can use more water than a bath (in less than 5 minutes). Water-saver showerheads can be fitted to certain types of shower installation and deliver a flow rate of 4-9 litres per minute by generating finer droplets, while giving the feeling of a good shower. Thermostatic shower mixers can also help reduce the waste of water that happens while balancing the temperature with separate hot and cold controls. Low volume baths, such as Green Building Store's Ecocomfort bath, are now also available and are contoured to the human body to create a comfortable bath at a reduced volume of 140 litres.