The joint hot water saving campaign with IV, WKÖ, Leitbetriebe Austria and Leadersnet reduces energy and gas consumption as well as operating and household costs in the long term.
The current price increases on the energy market pose major challenges for all of us, households as well as companies, associations and organizations. The newly launched initiative "Save energy & water. Now!". The focus is on raising awareness and encouraging people to actively save hot water in buildings, because after heating, hot water production requires the most energy in the household[1]. The aim of the initiative is to work with supporters to reduce hot water consumption in one million showers and washbasins in Austria by up to 50 percent, thereby saving 22 billion liters of water, 3.2 million gigajoules of energy and 290,000 tonsof CO2 every year.
Each of us uses around 130 liters of water every day for personal hygiene and in the household. A large proportion of this is hot water, and this can be expensive at the moment. After heating, hot water production requires the most energy in the household. "In 2022, energy consumption in Austrian households will account for around 284 million gigajoules, with around 14 percent being used to produce hot water using gas and other fossil fuels," says Ulrike Rabmer-Koller from the Rabmer Group in Altenberg, one of the initiators of "Energie und Wasser sparen. Now!". However, many Austrians are not even aware of their hot water consumption - and this is precisely where there is a need for action. "Many showers still use 12 to 15 liters of water per minute. If you reduce the water flow rate to around 7 l/min, this can save a family of three up to 300 euros per year. Money that is then available for other things," says Rabmer-Koller.
Accordingly, "Inform" is the first of three basic pillars of "Save energy and water. Now!". The participating institutions, businesses, municipalities and associations take on this role: they inform their citizens, employees and members about the enormous potential for saving hot water when showering and washing hands and provide tips on how to save water and energy sustainably.
"Leverage all available potential"
Initiators and supporters of "Energie & Wasser sparen. Now!" are the Federation of Austrian Industries, the Chamber of Commerce, Opinion Leaders Network, Leitbetriebe Austria and the Rabmer Group. Together, they want to reduce gas and energy consumption and also make a significant contribution to climate protection.
"As an industry, the conscious and efficient use of resources is in our DNA; for example, energy intensity in industry has fallen by around two percent annually in recent years," says Christoph Neumayer, Secretary General of the Federation of Austrian Industries (IV). "Our companies and we as IV operate efficiently and conserve resources. If we want to be successful together, we need to leverage all available potential, which is why we support the Energy & Water Saving Initiative. Now!"
The starting point for any far-reaching change is sound awareness-raising, as the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber also emphasizes. "Initiatives such as "Save energy & water. Now!" draw attention to an important topic in times of energy crisis. Heating energy is expensive and companies are already doing everything they can to take measures to protect the climate and keep energy consumption as low as possible. At the same time, there is a need to identify intelligent and practical savings potential in order to further reduce energy costs. As the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, it is therefore important to us to support companies in the area of energy management," said Karlheinz Kopf, Secretary General of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber and Jürgen Streitner, Head of the Environmental Policy Department of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber.
The initiative not only presents facts, statistics and, ultimately, proposed solutions, but also debunks persistent myths. For example, contributing to climate protection does not involve a great deal of effort or noticeable cuts in daily life. "Saving water and energy does not mean doing without anything, but simply not wasting our most valuable resources," explains Leitbetriebe Austria Managing Director Monica Rintersbacher. "And every individual benefits from this through considerable savings, as does Austria as a business location, which gains a little independence from fossil fuels as a result. Individual and collective benefits go together perfectly here."
Paul Leitenmüller, CEO Opinion Leaders Network, also supports the goal of saving energy and hot water in the long term: "Sustainability and climate protection are the requirements of our age. It is not what others do, but what we do ourselves that points the way for the future. That's why we support the Save Energy & Water. Now!"
The bucket test provides clarity on hot water consumption
The second important pillar of "Save energy and water. Now!": After "informing" comes "measuring", because only those who know how much water they actually use can take active measures. You can easily measure your own water consumption in the shower or at the sink with a bucket test[2] . Turn the shower or water tap to the full position, let the water run into a bucket for one minute and then place it on a body scale. The kilograms displayed correspond one to one to a liter, so twelve kilograms would mean twelve liters. The initiative's online savings calculator can then be used to determine the individual savings potential.
The third and final step is to minimize your own water consumption in the long term. On the website of "Wasser & Energie sparen. Now!" website, companies, municipalities, associations, institutions and organizations can register free of charge. They then receive information material and an individual discount code that employees, citizens or members can use to purchase discounted water-saving products via the online store and save energy and water in the long term.
[1] https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Energy_consumption_in_households
[2] (1) Saving water with ECOTURBINO® - the bucket test - VIMEO
