How much do showers consume: water, gas and electricity bills

How much do hot showers cost? Showers represent a moment of well-being, excellent for easing the tensions accumulated during the day. Yet the time spent under the jet of hot water has a clear impact on the water and gas bills at the end of the month.

And if the little ones are taught right from the start to not waste water, this rule does not seem to apply to adults. Saving water, a priority from an ethical-environmental point of view, also becomes an economic issue.

A hot shower, like any energy consumption, has its own cost. It’s important to keep track of your spending to prepare for monthly bills. Here’s how much a hot shower consumes.

Gas and electricity bill, how much energy does a hot shower consume?

According to what energy consultants report, the consumption of gas for hot water can impact up to 10-15% in the overall expenditure of a family.

It is not possible to establish with certainty how much you consume - and therefore how much it costs - in just one hot shower. Many factors can influence the final price of the bill. What influences the price of a single shower are:

• the amount of time spent under the jet of hot water;
• the capacity in liters of the boiler tank;
• power and efficiency;
• the starting temperature of the water and the arrival temperature.

Before calculating how much a hot shower costs in your water bill, you need to add the cost of gas or electricity consumed to heat the water.

Gas consumption

Assuming that the tank contains 12 liters, that 14°C is the starting degree and 50°C is the final temperature, with a 26 kW boiler and an efficiency of 85%, the calculations show that the gas consumed to heat the water is 0.49 kWh for approximately one minute. Still on a hypothetical level, if a shower lasted approximately 5 minutes, it would therefore require as many as 42 liters of water, which would consume 0.20 standard cubic meter of methane to be heated.

Now you need to make a simple proportion between this data and your rate for a cubic meter of gas. In February 2024 on the Protected Market the cubic meter of methane has a cost equal to 0.388 €/Smc, which means that every 5-minute shower will have an impact on the gas bill equal to 0.07 euro (7 cents).

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Electricity consumption

However, according to calculators, it is estimated that for a 5-minute shower, the energy consumption to heat approximately 40-50 liters of water is equal to 1-1.25 kWh. At this point, simply calculate the energy cost by multiplying consumption by your energy tariff. As of February 4, 2024, the price of electricity indicated by Arera is 0.131 €/kWh. This means that a five-minute hot shower will have an impact on the electricity bill of between 0.13-0.16 euro (between 13-16 cents)

Water bill, how much does it cost to take a hot shower?

The impact of a hot shower on the water bill is another story. As reported by other sources, only in September 2023 was it estimated that the average cost per cubic meter of water is equal to 2.35 euros per cubic meter, which means that the single shower of 5 minutes will cost approximately 0.10 euro

This data, added to the energy cost will give the real cost of a single shower of water.

Bills, what ways to save water

Faced with the costs of just one hot shower, especially how it affects the water bill, it is natural that families want to find a way to reduce consumption.

This is not only healthy for the wallets of Italian families, but above all, it is healthy for the environment. Suffice it to say that on average every minute well 5-10 liters of water are consumed. It is good to know that there are various strategies to adopt to reduce water consumption at home, such as:

• check that there are no leaks in the pipes. This will allow you to save up to 22% water;
• in any case prefer the shower to the bath in the tub. In this way you can save at least half the water;
• do not let the shower water run while soaping yourself. It is estimated that up to 2,500 liters of water per year per person can be saved in this way;
• install jet break taps which can reduce consumption by up to half.

These are just some of the useful tips for saving water, respecting the environment, and saving your savings from the end-of-month bills.

Original article published on Money.it Italy 2024-02-04 16:45:55. Original title: Quanto consuma una doccia, quanto si spende tra acqua e gas in bolletta