caring Communication

... FOR SAVING WATER
About a third of the water we use at home is for flushing the loo, but you can save a lot
by only flushing when there’s something solid to flush away. If this doesn’t appeal, you
can restrict the amount of water used for each flush by fitting a water-saving loo, such
as a dual-flush one that has a big and a little flush. You can also put something (a brick, or
a plastic bag designed for the job - some water companies provide these free of charge) in
the cistern, so it doesn’t use as much water to flush.
Taking a shower uses around two-thirds less water than taking a bath, but this is
providing you’re only in the shower for a few minutes and it’s not a power shower
- power showers can use more water than a bath. You’ll save most water by fitting
a flow-restricting shower or an aerating shower head. These use less water per
minute and shouldn’t leave you showering in a dribble. Mira Showers’ Eco showers,
for example, use flow regulators to limit the maximum flow of water, while their Eco
shower heads use aerating technology to create the sensation of a normal flow using a lot less water.
If you have a dripping tap, fix it as quickly as possible because it will soon waste litres of water. Often the tap just needs a
new washer, which isn’t hard to fit. You can also save water by fitting flow restrictors or regulators to your home’s taps,
or tap inserts that aerate the water.
One of the best ways to save water is to install a grey-water recycling system. This typically takes waste water
from the bath, shower and basin (and sometimes other waste water too) and uses it for the loo and outside tap.
There are various ways to do this, some of which are expensive, but it can be as straightforward as fitting a wastepipe
splitter to separate the water from your bathroom’s loo from the room’s other waste water.
In the garden, rainwater can be collected in a water butt by connecting it to a downpipe, which is a fairly simple DIY job.
This makes watering the garden easier, especially when there’s a hosepipe ban. A more elaborate version of this is a
rainwater harvesting system. There are different versions, but it’s often a system that collects rain from the guttering and
pumps it to where it’s needed. More than half of the mains water we use at home could be replaced by rainwater in this way,
so it could make a big difference.
...FOR CHOOSING &
USING UNDERFLOOR HEATING
Wet underfloor heating works by circulating warm water through a series of pipes under the floor,
connected to a boiler or other heat source - usually a heat pump. The pipes don’t have to be laid
in concrete - with some wet underfloor heating systems, the installer can lift up the existing floor
covering, fit the heating panels, lay plywood on top and replace the floor covering. Most types of floor covering
are suitable for underfloor heating, including carpet, tiles, vinyl, laminate and engineered wood (check with the
manufacturer if in doubt).
Lots of homes have underfloor heating in some rooms and radiators in others, but underfloor heating
is more energy efficient. It works at a lower temperature to radiators, yet delivers the same level of
comfort, saving you money because the boiler doesn’t have to work as hard and so uses less energy. A
radiator heats the air immediately above it, with the heat rising and then falling in a circular motion as it
cools, whereas an underfloor system heats the entire room from the floor up. This reduces the constant air circulation
caused by radiators, which creates draughts and distributes dust.
If your home has a ground, air or water source heat pump, or you’re considering installing one, this is the perfect partner for
underfloor heating. Heat pumps work at their most efficient at low-water-output temperatures, so having a low-temperature
heat emitter, such as underfloor heating, is ideal. Both heat pumps and boilers can heat water to the lowest temperature required
for underfloor heating, but heat pumps do it more efficiently than boilers.
As wet underfloor heating systems are connected to your home’s boiler or heat pump, they can be cheaper to run than electric
versions. They also come with room (or zone) controls, so you can have some rooms (or zones, such as the ground floor) hotter than
others, again, potentially saving you money. Another advantage of underfloor heating is that it’s space saving. Some rooms have
little free wall space for radiators, but this clearly isn’t a problem if the heating’s under the floor.
It is, of course, important to get your underfloor heating from a reputable supplier - some manufacturers guarantee their
heating pipes for up to 50 years - and to use a plumber or heating engineer with experience of fitting systems like yours.
spring 2016 | health matters | 77