Specifying energy efficient water delivery

Suzannah Adey, Product Marketing Manager at Mira Showers, highlights the impact the Future Homes Standard will have on energy efficient water delivery and why hot water demand reduction should be considered now. 

With the Future Homes Standard (FHS) currently being finalised, developers need to be aware of the importance of adapting specifications to reduce carbon emissions in newbuilds. However, existing properties will also be impacted, with millions of homes across the UK expected to need energy efficiency upgrades. Domestic properties account for around 14% of the UK’s total carbon emissions, so it was perhaps no surprise the FHS was introduced. Aiming to reduce carbon emissions by 75-80% compared to those built under the existing regulations, it’s likely to make a substantial difference in the future. With the UK Green Building Council estimating that 29 million UK homes will require energy efficiency upgrades to achieve the government’s 2050 net-zero target, facility managers and building owners need to fully understand the regulations and how to utilise technology to ensure compliance.   

As FHS takes shape, Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) will be replaced by the Home Energy Model (HEM) – a more dynamic methodology providing an extensive approach to the evaluation of energy efficiency in homes. It will demand more detailed information and accurate simulations, compared to the less detailed dataset used by SAP. Additionally, HEM will use half-hour intervals for realistic energy consumption and environmental impact assessments, while SAP uses monthly calculations. HEM will also identify and evaluate future technologies and offer a comprehensive long-term view of energy efficiency in the property.  

The impacts on hot water specification 

As property developers, facility managers, and building owners focus their attention on energy efficient solutions to improve space heating, the percentage of domestic energy required to generate hot water will increase. The need to reduce a home’s energy and hot water demand is even more imperative when you consider that hot water production already ranks as the second highest user of energy in a typical UK home – with showering representing around 50% of all household hot water use. Additionally, around 85%-90% of heat energy in showering is lost down the drain, meaning a significant percentage of the total average household energy budget is lost – a figure that will increase further as homes become more energy efficient.  

With HEM measuring how different technologies work within a house, the implementation of systems that reduce hot water usage, enhance energy efficiency and integrate renewable energy, the specification of energy efficient showers and other water delivery systems will become an important aspect of property design. The FHS will therefore challenge asset owners to rethink hot water specification and the way buildings consume energy – requiring planning and investment in technologies that are futureproof, compliant with regulations, and cost-effective over the long term.  

As energy prices rise, household energy consumption should be optimised. While occupants have a role to play in reducing their energy usage, the installation of energy efficient showers will go some way towards cutting down energy bills over time. Indeed, an increasing number of energy efficient and sustainable electric showers and waste water heat recovery for showers units are being specified. Working in unison, for example, the Mira Heatloop electric showers and Recoup HeatDeck waste water heat recovery system reduce the amount of energy needed per shower by up to 40%, and lower the CO2 associated with the production of hot water. 

Regulating power based on incoming water conditions, and recycling as much heat as possible, these systems significantly reduce hot water demand, substantially improving energy efficiency and consumption without any change to user behaviour or maintenance. With asset owners under pressure to reduce carbon footprints, occupants facing rising energy costs, and regulations ever-tightening, the importance of specifying and installing energy efficient showers and water delivery systems cannot be overlooked.  

www.mirashowers.co.uk