Yorkshire Water -

Annual cost of hot baths predicted to rise to £1,023 in 2023

Energy and environment General news Saving water

1/9/2023

Brew hoo – 80% annual increase in yearly cost to boil kettle since 2021
New ‘Teapot Index’ reveals rising cost of using water in our homes, with tips on how to save a whopping £700 per year

Although water rates have stayed the same over the last year, new research from Yorkshire Water has revealed the rising costs of using water in the home, thanks to gas and electricity prices rocketing. The water company says that as well as environmental benefits, significant annual savings can be made by homeowners switching up their water habits.

The water company’s ‘Teapot Index’ calculates the energy costs associated with heating water in different domestic scenarios, including how this changed drastically over the last decade and predictions for 2023.

Running a bath is the most expensive domestic use of water, costing £542.88 in 2022, a 79% rise since 2021 (£303.70). Following closely behind is using a dishwasher, costing £236.60 in 2022, up from £132.68 in 2021, and a washing machine, costing £222.77 in 2022, an annual increase of 95%! Even the humble cup of tea is not immune to price increases, costing £18.69 to boil your kettle and make a brew in 2022, compared with £10.37 in 2021 (80% increase).

These costs are predicted to increase by an average of 18% in 2023, whilst the cost of running a bath is predicted to skyrocket to almost double the cost this year, coming in at an eye-watering £1,023.36.

As these costs start to add up, Yorkshire Water suggests making small changes to save money, potentially saving families £700 per year. Instead of having an 8-minute shower, cut this in half to four minutes. The average household will have 754 showers a year, and if they’re all 8-minute showers, this is costing £256.36. By having 4-minute showers instead, you could save £128.18 on showers a year.

The average Brit has three baths a week, which costs the average household £542.88 a year. Reducing this to one bath a week could save up to £361.92, or by switching from three baths to five showers every week, families could see savings of up to £189.28 a year.

Make sure that both your washing machine and dishwasher is full before you put a load on – at 47.6p and 91p a load respectively, you don’t want to be wasting them. The average UK family of four does eight to ten loads of laundry a week. If they are all only half or two-thirds full, you could cut this number down to between four and seven loads, saving you anywhere from £66.01 up to £123.76 a year!

Yorkshire Water’s Emily Brady says, “Managing water use in the home is a great way to keep bills down. The environmental benefits to saving water are well known, but there are also great cost savings to reducing your usage – especially when it comes to heating water. The findings from our Teapot Index clearly show that you can make a difference to how much you spend. Whether that’s only putting your washing on when it’s full, or spending less time in the shower, if each household could make a few small changes, they could save a fortune annually. We’ve even created our very own four-minute shower playlist.

“We appreciate that the increased cost of living means a lot of people are worrying about their bills. To help our millions of customers across Yorkshire, we offer free immediate short term and longer-term schemes to help with water bills, including our WaterSure bill cap and Community Trust debt support schemes for low-income households and customers who are struggling with debts. We don’t want anyone worrying about paying for water that they need, which is why we are encouraging a “swap don’t stop” approach to making small changes to your habits around the home that really can make a noticeable impact on your bill.”

Yorkshire Water is also working with a cohort of regional influencers to challenge them – and their followers – to a Dryer January, where they put some of the company’s tips into practice, with the aim of reducing their bills in January.