Energy Efficient Bathroom Upgrades: Save Water, Save Cash

Fixtures do most of the work

Modern low-flow showerheads and faucets from manufacturers like Kohler and TOTO no longer feel weak. Aeration and pressure compensation have solved the complaint that made people avoid them a decade ago.

Dual-flush and high-efficiency toilets are now standard specification rather than an upgrade, and the difference over a year in a family home is substantial.

Hot water is the real cost

Water itself is cheap. Heating it is not. Shorter pipe runs, insulated hot water lines and a recirculation loop where the layout justifies it all cut the volume of water that runs down the drain waiting to get warm.

If the water heater is at the end of its life, replacing it during the renovation costs far less than replacing it afterwards.

Ventilation, lighting and heat

An adequately sized and properly ducted extractor fan protects the finishes and the framing, which is an efficiency question as much as a maintenance one.

LED lighting on the right circuits, and electric underfloor heating on a programmable thermostat, let you heat the room you are in rather than the whole floor.

• Size the fan to the room volume and duct it outside, not into a loft.
• Put lighting on separate circuits so the room can be dim at night.
• Insulate hot water pipes wherever the walls are already open.