Planning a waterwise home

Installing waterwise fittings, fixtures and appliances when you’re building will help to reduce your new home’s water use – and save you money.

Choosing appliances

Before choosing your appliances, it pays to find out their WELS star ratings. WELS is Australia’s water efficiency labelling scheme, which rates appliances on how water efficient they are.

It’s simple: the more stars on the label, the more water efficient the appliance is.

You can make the most difference in these areas of your home:

Bathroom

• Water efficient showerhead – Look for a showerhead with a WELS 4 star rating or better
• Taps – In the bathroom look for taps with WELS 6 star rating or better
• Toilet – Install a dual flush toilet with a WELS 4 star rating or better
• Bathtub – Look for a low volume bathtub with a small surface area

Kitchen

• Dishwasher – When looking for a dishwasher look for a machine with WELS 4.5 star rating or better
• Taps – In the kitchen install taps with WELS 4 star rating or better

Laundry

• Washing machine – when choosing a new washing machine look for a machine with WELS 4.5 star rating or better and consider switching to a front loader, which uses up to 35% less water than a top loader of the same load.
• Taps – In the laundry install taps with WELS 4 star rating or better

Air conditioning

• To cool your house install reverse cycle air conditioning or ceiling fans instead of an evaporative system – they can use around 60–100 litres of water per hour
• If you have an evaporative system, you can still make savings by using the ‘fan only’ setting at night and when it’s humid

Planning your irrigation system

Preparing a plan of your irrigation system is the first step to planning your new garden. It will help to ensure you are applying the right amount of water for the plants in your garden.

Some things to consider in drafting your sprinkler plan are:

• How much water will your plants need?
• What is your soil type?
• What is the water pressure in your area?

For more tips to help you create a beautiful garden while reducing your water, check out our gardening advice.

An irrigation system with an automatic irrigation controller is the best way to save water, as you can program your rostered watering days, and control the amount of water going to each station. Your local waterwise garden irrigator or irrigation design shop can give you expert advice on selecting and installing a water efficient system.