Universities can avoid getting in hot water with energy bills – by looking at use through pipes on sites

Universities have a valuable opportunity to save on energy costs – and their water bills at sites, where use has changed – through regular checks and monitoring how water is flowing.

Cutting any water waste not only helps Scope 3 emissions – by reducing the amount of carbon emissions produced through pumping it to a site and taking away and treating wastewater – and can decrease energy bills, where less hot water is used.

A university was recently alerted to an issue with their water pipes at a student accommodation campus, which has a number of blocks with those studying at the institution using hot and cold water each day during term dates.

The site in England, which houses more than 2,000 students and is self-catering, was seeing 3.7 cubic metres of water an hour being lost in December 2021, tracked through a data logger on the main water meter. It means a cost of around £1,550 a week, showing how costs can soon add up for institutions. Work is underway to pinpoint the source and cause and arrange a repair of the pipes affected.

Hot water can cost between 2 to 4 times more than cold water, once energy costs are considered, and water efficient taps, showerheads and other measures can all help there.

Mark Taylor, Advanced Services Operations Manager in England for Water Plus, said: “With energy costs in the news, there are some areas where there are low-cost opportunities and options for universities, particularly if the number of people at sites is fluctuating through a year. Getting more data on where water is used is an important first step along with checks ahead of and during colder months in a year.

“One example is where, through tracking water more closely, a university site could see the effect of high water pressure, which is no longer needed, after the size of accommodation blocks decreased as the site use changed. The high pressure not only means higher costs from more water going through taps in the buildings that are in use, but also puts extra strain on pipework causing leaks, on top of the extra hot water and cold water use – again increasing energy spending and Scope 3 carbon emissions.”

Energy may also be being used at a university site to move water around too, so the less needing to be transported throughout a site, the less energy needed overall.

“There are carbon emissions linked to all water and wastewater at sites, calculated on each 1,000 litres of water through taps, and each 1,000 litres taken away for treatment. So, by just boiling the water you need in work kitchen kettles – to reducing water waste from any leaks, including dripping taps, running toilets from cisterns – and elsewhere at your site – soon adds up to lowering running costs, creating less carbon overall and using less energy too,” Mark added.

More on steps organisations can take to reduce water waste can be found at: www.water-plus.co.uk/sustainability