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“Hot Water Down the Drain: Unlocking Hot Water Decarbonisation Through the Warm Homes Plan”, a report published by Triton Showers is urging the government to integrate hot water decarbonisation into its long-term housing and net-zero strategies.
The report calls on the government to include instantaneous electric showers (IES) and a new category of high-efficiency models (IES-HE) designed to connect to waste water heat recovery systems (WWHRS) within major retrofit and energy efficiency funding schemes, namely the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund (WH:SHF) and Warm Homes: Local Grant (WH:LG).
It claims these technologies could deliver up to 1,042 tonnes of CO2e savings in their first year and between 818 and 902 million litres of potable water savings over the next decade if adopted across the Warm Homes Plan schemes. This would equate to up to an 87.5% reduction in shower-related emissions, compared to traditional mixer showers, by 2035.
Triton Showers market development manager, Paul Ravnbo-West, said: “The current policy landscape is heavily weighted towards space heating, but as that decarbonises, hot water will make up a significant share of household energy use. If this isn’t addressed in the Warm Homes Plan, we risk missing a major opportunity to cut emissions and help households manage rising utility costs.”
