Jamie Fear: Let's not throw the baby out with the Govt's bathwate

Announcement by New Zealand Herald - 22nd of October 2008 - 7:09 AM

The Government's proposed restrictions on water flow generated a flood of responses.

 It proposed draft alterations to the Building Code restricting flow
rates to showers in new homes of more than 150sq m and renovated
bathrooms. In the face of mounting public pressure, the Minister for
Building and Construction, Shane Jones, said the Government would
rethink imposing a restriction on water flow rates of 6 litres per
minute.

However, there is much more at stake here than just
shower pressure. Sustainable solutions need to look at the whole
picture and address issues on a long-term basis. When examining water
conservation we need to acknowledge that alongside the issue of the
quantity of water we use in our homes, we also need to look at the
amount of energy used to heat water, and the quality of the water we
use.

The enthusiasm with which the public has defended its right
to a long, hot shower shows that solutions to issues such as water
conservation need to balance environmental objectives with lifestyle.

While
some commentators have claimed they can quite happily live with a flow
rate of 6 litres per minute, many would find this unsatisfactory. A 6
litre per minute restriction may see people use just as much, if not
more, water by taking longer showers - but shower quality would be
reduced significantly.

A more effective approach to regulation
would be to compulsorily introduce the WELS (Water Efficiency Labelling
and Standards) rating scheme as used in Australia. Similar to the
Energy Star mark given to appliances in New Zealand, the WELS scheme
would enable homeowners to compare the water efficiency of different
products such as showers, taps, toilets, dishwashers and washing
machines.

The WELS label looks very similar to the Energy Star
labels and clearly displays an efficiency rating out of six and a water
consumption measurement.

For homeowners, this scheme provides a
much greater incentive to save water as they are able to actively
choose products that will save money in both energy and water bills.

The
introduction of a WELS ratings scheme would complement the (voluntary)
Home Energy Ratings Scheme (HERS) which provides homeowners with the
means to assess the energy efficiency of their home, encompassing the
building itself and its room and water heating systems.

Like
Energy Star labelling, the energy rating scheme will raise public
awareness of home energy efficiency and allow homeowners to make more
informed choices about their energy consumption.

One issue that
homeowners particularly need to be made aware of is that heating the
water in the household's hot-water cylinder contributes up to 40 per
cent of a home's monthly power bill. This inefficiency can be easily
redressed by installing a hot-water heat pump, a solar heating system
or at the very least, by installing a good-quality, well-insulated
hot-water cylinder.

While many homeowners may be deterred by the
costs of such solutions, in the long term they stand to benefit from
significant power savings. In the case of solar water heating for
example, an average householder could save between $350 and $450 a year
at current electricity prices and the cost of installation may be
offset by $1000 under the current EECA (Energy Efficiency and
Conservation Authority) subsidy scheme.

While excessive
regulation is not the answer to the environment issues we face,
educating consumers and providing them with tools to assess the health,
efficiency and sustainability of their homes is the key to enacting
changes for the better.

* Jamie Fear is Future-Proof
Building's national professional education manager, with a particular
interest in making New Zealand homes more energy-efficient and
sustainable.

Future-Proof Building promotes change in the
construction industry from cost-driven construction to solution, or
lifestyle-driven construction.