Water

How do I save water and energy in the shower?

Short answer

A water-saving shower head uses at most 7.2 litres per minute. Shorter showers (5 instead of 7.4 minutes) save the most.

Explanation

Hot water is a big energy item: almost 25 % of gas use goes to hot water for bathroom and kitchen. A litre of hot water causes more than 7 times as much CO2 as a litre of cold water. A 7.4-minute shower uses on average 55 litres of hot water, a bath almost double.

Rules of thumb

• Average shower time in the Netherlands: 7.4 minutes. [SW-S41]
• Shower head: choose ≤ 7.2 l/min. [SW-S41]
• Aim for 5-minute showers. [SW-S41]
• Going from 7.4 to 5 minutes saves about € 36 per person per year in the Netherlands. [SW-S41]
• Choose a shower over a bath: a bath uses almost double the hot water. [SW-S41]

Pitfalls

• Lowering the hot water temperature (below 55 °C) is not a good saving: legionella risk. [SW-S32]

Search terms

These search terms are in Dutch; only terms that also find a topic in English are links.

douche douchekop warm water besparen

Read also

• Can I lower the water heater temperature to save energy?
• Where does the energy in a home go?

Sources

1. SW-S32 Legionella bij je thuis — Departement Zorg (Vlaanderen) (Reference date 2026-09-27)
2. SW-S41 Besparen onder de douche en in bad — Milieu Centraal (Reference date 2026-09-27)

Reference date: 2026-09-27 · Translated with AI from the Dutch original.