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Enjoy carefree hot water use

How can I consume less hot water without loss of convenience?

Hot water is never free! By adopting good habits and improving your installation, you will find yourself using less hot water and going easy on your wallet and the climate:

Good habits

  • take a shower (30-40 l) rather than a bath (100-120 l).
  • install an economic handspray in the shower and a flow limiter on the taps
  • hunt down the leaks and dripping taps
  • do not let water run needlessly, especially hot water, when brushing your teeth and so on
  • don’t do the dishes by hand! Your dishwasher is much more effective and economical on hot water and energy than you are
  • only run machines (dishwasher, washing machine) when they’re full.
  • do your washing at 40° or even 30°C.
Did you know? Cutting the shower time by just two minutes can save a household consisting of 4 members, up to 26,000 litres water per year.

Improve your installation

By making a few adjustments and making the right equipment purchase choices, you can substantially drive down your hot water consumption.

  • insulate the hot water pipes going through unheated rooms
  • improve the insulation of the hot water cylinder
  • set the boiler at 55°C, if it isn’t already.
  • get a professional in to check your electric boiler isn’t scaled up and make sure you check and have (now compulsory) your instant water heater serviced on a regular basis.
  • install a top-up water heater if the tap is too far from the source
  • ideally buy gas models with electronic ignition rather than a pilot light. Some pilot light models can be converted into electronic ignition boilers. Ask your heating specialist for advice.

Decide to invest

  • Your domestic hot water may be costing you too much because your entire heating installation is an outdated energy guzzler. If your heating boiler also generates your domestic hot water and is more than 20 years old, remember that a new model could drive down your gas consumption by 30%. This saving will have a favourable impact on your energy consumption for heating as well as hot water.
  • If your roof is facing the right way, a solar boiler is another rewarding option.
  • Finally, thermodynamic boilers, including a micro-heat pump, also provide a very effective solution. Not to mention the fact that they have become very affordable, especially with a grant!

In fact, grants are available in all three cases to help you with this investment.

Hot water, a huge budget item

Every Belgian consumes an average of 98.4 l of drinking water per day. Only part is heated, but this accounts for 1,050 to 1,275 kWh consumed annually per person if the water is heated in an electric hot water cylinder. I.e. an annual budget of € 210 to 255 per person (calculation basis: € 0,20/kWh).

Sami Naouar
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Between 2006 and 2008, the Foyer Anderlechtois carried out a huge renovation project on a building in the area of the rue des Droits de l'Homme. During the works, the Foyer Anderlechtois paid special attention to managing the building's domestic hot water.

Read the testimonial

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