Hot water needs depend on showering, dishwashing and laundry frequency.
Household water needs vary depending on each family member's lifestyle preferences, particularly their bathing and personal hygiene habits and frequency of dish washing and laundry chores. Families can save energy and cut water heating costs by bathing, doing laundry and washing dishes in cold water, but for comfort and health reasons, most prefer using hot water for these tasks. When planning future water heating needs, it is best to make honest, realistic calculations to ensure that enough hot water is available when you need it.
Instructions
1. Calculate the flow rate of your showerhead. Hold a 5-gallon bucket under the shower head and simultaneously start your stopwatch as you turn the water on. Turn the stopwatch off when the bucket fills to determine how many seconds it takes to fill the bucket. To determine the flow rate, divide 60 seconds by the number of seconds it takes to fill the bucket, and multiply that by 5 gallons.
2. Calculate the gallons of hot water used when taking a bath. This number is equivalent to 60 percent of the number of total gallons your bathtub holds.
3. Ask family members to record the amount of time they spend showering or bathing with hot water over the course of a week. To determine the total bathing hot water needs for the week, multiply the total showering time of all family members by the showerhead flow rate and add the total gallons of hot bath water used).
4. Calculate the hot water used when washing laundry in hot or warm water. A standard washing machine holds about 20 gallons of water. If you wash laundry in warm water, each load will use about 10 gallons of hot water. If you wash laundry in hot water, each load will use about 20 gallons of hot water. Record the number of laundry loads washed per week, as well as the cycles and temperature used. Multiply the number of warm water loads by 10 gallons, and the number of hot water loads by 20 gallons. Add together the results for the total laundry hot water needs for the week.
5. Calculate the hot water used for washing dishes each week. Washing dishes by hand takes about 5 gallons of hot water. Consult your dishwasher's owner's manual to determine how much hot water it uses, since dishwasher models vary widely in their hot water use. Multiply the number of hand-washed loads by 5 gallons and add that total to the number of dishwasher loads times the number of gallons per load.
6. Add up your bathing hot water needs, laundry hot water needs and dishwashing hot water needs to determine your family's total gallons of hot water needed per week. If you need a yearly figure, multiply the total by 52. If you need a monthly figure, multiply the total by 4.3.
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