After months of heavy heating use and constant kettle boiling, late winter is when many households begin reassessing how much energy - and water - they’re using.
The good news? You don’t need a full renovation to make meaningful savings. A few smart swaps in your kitchen, bathroom and with your heating system can improve efficiency before spring arrives - and continue delivering benefits when demand rises again later in the year.
Plus, with 10% off all kitchen taps this February, now is a good time to review the fixtures working hardest in your home.
Where homes quietly waste energy
Most inefficiencies aren’t dramatic. They’re everyday habits and older fittings that simply aren’t performing as they could:
- Dripping taps
- Overfilled kettles
- Radiators heating unused rooms
- Showers running while warming up
- Older taps without aerators
Individually, these seem minor. Over time, they can quietly add up, increasing both water usage and heating demand. But reducing that impact doesn’t mean taking on a full renovation. In fact, modest upgrades and small habit changes can still have a noticeable impact - and here’s where to start.
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Energy-efficient kitchen upgrades
The kitchen is one of the highest water-use spaces in the home, but also one of the easiest to optimise. From washing up and rinsing vegetables to filling pans and making hot drinks, small amounts of water are used repeatedly throughout the day - which means even modest efficiency improvements can make a difference.
1. Upgrade to a modern water-saving kitchen tap
Many newer kitchen taps include built-in aerators, flow restrictors, dual spray functions and improved temperature control - all designed to reduce unnecessary water usage without compromising performance.
The feature with the biggest impact is the aerator. Aerators mix air with water, reducing flow while maintaining pressure. That means less water used during washing up, rinsing and filling pans without a noticeable change in how your tap feels.
Older taps run around 12–15 litres of water per minute, but using a modern aerator tap can reduce that to around 6–8 litres. If your tap runs for around five minutes a day, upgrading could save up to 11,000 litres of water per year, depending on usage and water pressure. At current UK water rates, that could equate to £25–£30 per year from a single fixture.
With 10% off kitchen taps this month, it’s one of the simplest low-disruption upgrades to make before spring.
2. Fix dripping taps immediately
A dripping tap can waste significant amounts of water over time. Often the cause is a worn cartridge or washer, which is inexpensive to replace but costly to ignore.
A trickling tap can waste around 5,500 litres of water annually, which equates to roughly three months of daily showers on top of your regular use - and that’s just from one tap. If you have multiple taps that are dripping, costs can start to spiral into hundreds of pounds a year.
3. Consider a boiling water tap
Overfilling the kettle is one of the most common everyday energy habits. Heating more water than you need might not feel significant, but it adds up.
If you overfill your kettle by just half a litre twice a day, that’s around 365 litres of unnecessarily heated water per year - costing roughly £10–£15 annually.
A boiling water tap heats only what you use, when you use it. For busy households making multiple hot drinks a day, it can reduce repeated reboiling and excess heating. This offers both convenience and controlled energy use over the long-term.
Bathroom upgrades that lower water usage
Bathrooms account for a large proportion of household water consumption, particularly in homes with multiple occupants. Showers, baths and toilet flushing alone can represent a significant share of daily indoor water use. Because these activities happen every day - often more than once - even small improvements in flow rates or temperature control can make a noticeable difference over time.
1. Install a low-flow shower head
Small changes to daily routines, when supported by efficient fittings, can significantly reduce long-term water use. Showers are one of the highest water-use activities in the home. Traditional shower heads can use around 12–15 litres of water per minute, but many modern water-saving models can reduce that to 6–9 litres per minute - while still maintaining strong pressure through improved spray design.
If you take a five-minute shower each day, switching from 14 litres per minute to 8 litres per minute could save around 30 litres of water per shower, which is nearly 11,000 litres a year from a daily shower - similar to the savings from upgrading a kitchen tap.
At current UK water rates, that could equate to £25–£30 per year per person. In households of two or more, the impact multiplies quickly.
2. Upgrade to a dual-flush toilet
Toilets account for roughly 30% of indoor household water use. Older single-flush models can use up to 9–13 litres per flush. Modern dual-flush toilets typically offer a ‘half’ flush option which only uses around 3-4 litres, and a full flush which uses around 6.
If a household switches just half of their daily flushes to the reduced option, that can save thousands of litres per year.
For example:
- Assume 4 flushes per person per day
- Switching from 9 litres to an average of 4.5 litres across the day
- That’s a saving of around 18 litres per person per day, and 6,570 litres per person per year.
It’s not a visible upgrade, but it’s one of the most impactful behind the scenes.
3. Install a thermostatic shower or mixer
A surprising amount of water is wasted during the “temperature adjustment” phase of a shower.
Running the water while waiting for it to warm up - or adjusting it repeatedly - can waste several litres each time. But by using a shower with thermostatic controls, you can reach the desired temperature faster, maintain it consistently and prevent unnecessary overheating.
If just 1 minute of water (at 8–10 litres per minute) is saved per shower, that’s up to 3,000 litres per person per year. And that’s before you even factor in the energy saved by not overheating water unnecessarily.
In busy households, those small inefficiencies quickly add up.
Smarter heating ideas
Heating accounts for roughly 55–60% of the average UK household’s energy bill, making it the largest area of potential savings. Small adjustments to how heat is distributed can reduce waste, particularly in late winter, when systems have been running consistently for months.
1. Adjust or install Thermostatic Radiator Valves (TRVs)
Thermostatic radiator valves allow you to control the temperature of individual rooms rather than heating the entire house to the same level.
In many homes, spare bedrooms, hallways or storage rooms are heated unnecessarily during winter.
If lowering the temperature in unused rooms reduces heating demand by even 5%, and the average annual gas bill for heating is around £800–£1,000, that could represent around £40–£50 in potential savings per year.
According to energy industry guidance, reducing room temperature by just 1°C can lower heating bills by up to 10%, depending on property efficiency.
In a home spending £900 per year on heating, a 1°C reduction could therefore mean up to £90 per year.
Actual savings depend on property size, insulation levels and heating patterns, but zoning and temperature control consistently rank among the most effective low-cost adjustments.
2. Bleed radiators
When air becomes trapped inside radiators, it reduces heat output and forces your boiler to work harder to reach the desired temperature.
If inefficient radiators cause your system to run even 10 minutes longer per day, that additional gas usage compounds over a winter season.
For example:
-
10 extra minutes of heating per day over 120 winter days = 1,200 minutes (20 hours) of additional runtime
If your boiler uses around 24 kWh per day during winter and costs roughly £0.07 per kWh, that extended runtime could be adding around £10–£20 per season.
Bleeding radiators takes minutes but may help your heating system operate at optimal efficiency.
3. Add timers to heated towel rails
Heated towel rails are often left running longer than necessary during colder months.
For example, a 100-watt electric towel rail running continuously (24 hours a day, year-round) could cost around £245 per year to operate. However, this assumes constant use.
If the same towel rail runs for around four hours per day instead, annual running costs fall to roughly £40. Even reducing usage to specific times of day or limiting operation to colder months can create noticeable savings.
Adding a timer helps ensure the rail only runs when needed, rather than by default.
4. Lower boiler flow temperature
Many combi boilers are set higher than necessary. Reducing your boiler flow temperature to around 60°C for radiators (if suitable for your system) can improve efficiency and reduce gas consumption.
Even a small efficiency improvement of 5% on a £900 annual heating bill could represent a £45 per year saving.
This adjustment should be made carefully and according to manufacturer guidance.
How much could these upgrades save the average household?
Individually, each upgrade may only appear to save £20–£90 per year. But combined, the impact becomes more noticeable.
Based on a typical UK household:
- Upgrading to a modern aerated kitchen tap could save up to £25–£30 per year.
- Installing a low-flow shower head may save around £25–£30 per person annually.
- Reducing heating demand by just 1°C could lower annual heating bills by up to £60–£90.
- Adding timers to electric heated towel rails could reduce running costs by £80–£200 per year, depending on usage.
For a two-person household implementing several of these changes, that could represent:
Around £125–£225 per year in potential savings.
For a family of four, where showering and water use are naturally higher, the total could increase to:
Approximately £200–£350 per year, depending on property size and energy usage.
Actual savings will vary based on occupancy, insulation levels, heating systems and daily habits. However, when small efficiency improvements are made across kitchens, bathrooms and heating systems together, the combined impact can be significant.
What UK water bills look like today
To put potential water savings into context, it helps to understand how household water bills are set.
In England and Wales, the average annual bill for water and wastewater services was around £600 in 2025/26, although charges vary by water company, region and whether a property is metered.
Under the current price control period set by the regulator Ofwat, water companies have been permitted to increase charges to fund investment in infrastructure, environmental improvements and service performance.
As a result, average bills are expected to rise again from April 2026, with industry forecasts suggesting typical annual charges could move towards £630–£640, depending on supplier and household circumstances.
While water pricing is regulated, a portion of most household bills - particularly for metered customers - depends directly on consumption. This means reducing water use, even by a few cubic metres per year, can help limit the impact of rising charges over time.
The small changes that deliver noticeable results
If a full upgrade isn’t realistic, these smaller adjustments can still improve efficiency. Go for these first to start seeing the results.
- Replace tap aerators
- Fix leaks promptly
- Lower boiler flow temperature
- Install radiator TRVs
- Reduce shower time by one minute
Energy efficiency is often about tightening everyday details rather than large renovations.
FAQs: Energy-efficient kitchen & bathroom upgrades
1. What is the easiest way to make a kitchen more energy efficient?
Upgrading to a modern kitchen tap with an aerator and fixing any dripping taps are two of the simplest and most effective changes.
2. Do water-saving taps reduce pressure?
Not necessarily. Aerated taps maintain strong pressure while using less water.
3. Are low-flow shower heads worth it?
Yes. Modern designs are engineered to maintain performance while lowering water consumption.
4. How can I reduce heating bills before spring?
Use thermostatic radiator valves, bleed radiators, reduce boiler flow temperature slightly and heat only occupied rooms.
5. Is February a good time to upgrade kitchen fittings?
Yes. Late winter is when inefficiencies become noticeable, and making changes before spring allows households to reduce ongoing waste.
Improving your home’s efficiency doesn’t have to mean major disruption or costly renovations. Often, it’s the everyday fixtures - the taps you use constantly, the showers running each morning, the radiators quietly heating spare rooms - that have the biggest cumulative impact.
By tightening up these small details before spring, households can reduce unnecessary water and energy use now - and put themselves in a stronger position when higher heating demand returns in autumn and winter.
Methodology
All savings figures in this guide are estimates based on typical UK usage patterns and average 2025–2026 energy and water tariffs.
Calculations assume:
- Water charges of approximately £2.50–£3.00 per cubic metre (including wastewater).
- Average shower length of five minutes per day.
- Tap usage of approximately five minutes per day.
- Four toilet flushes per person per day.
- Average household heating costs of £800–£1,000 per year.
- Electricity priced at approximately £0.28 per kWh and gas at approximately £0.07 per kWh.
Actual savings will vary depending on property size, occupancy, water pressure, insulation levels and individual usage habits.
Figures are intended to illustrate potential impact rather than guarantee exact savings.
