Although water rates have stayed the same over the last year, new research from Yorkshire Water has revealed the rising costs of using water in the home, thanks to gas and electricity prices rocketing.

The water company says that as well as environmental benefits, significant annual savings can be made by homeowners changing their water habits.

Yorkshire Water's ‘Teapot Index’ calculates the energy costs associated with heating water in different domestic scenarios, including how this changed drastically over the last decade and predictions for 2023.

The findings show that:

• Running a bath is the most expensive domestic use of water, at a cost of £542.88 in 2022, a 79% rise since 2021 (£303.70)
• Using a dishwasher, cost £236.60 in 2022, up from £132.68 in 2021 Using a washing machine cost £222.77 in 2022, an annual increase of 95%
• Making a cup of tea cost £18.69 to boil a kettle in 2022, compared with £10.37 in 2021 (80% increase).

The costs are predicted to increase by an average of 18% in 2023, whilst the cost of running a bath is predicted to skyrocket to almost double the cost this year, coming in at £1,023.36.

Yorkshire Water suggests making small changes to save money, potentially saving families £700 per year. Suggestions include:

Instead of having an 8-minute shower, cut this in half to four minutes. The average household will have 754 showers a year, and if they’re all 8-minute showers, this is costing £256.36. By having 4-minute showers instead, households could save £128.18 on showers a year.

The average person has three baths a week, which costs the average household £542.88 a year. Reducing this to one bath a week could save up to £361.92, or by switching from three baths to five showers every week, families could see savings of up to £189.28 a year.

Yorkshire Water’s Emily Brady commented:

“We appreciate that the increased cost of living means a lot of people are worrying about their bills. Managing water use in the home is a great way to keep bills down.

“The environmental benefits to saving water are well known, but there are also great cost savings to reducing your usage – especially when it comes to heating water. The findings from our Teapot Index clearly show that you can make a difference to how much you spend. Whether that’s only putting your washing on when it’s full, or spending less time in the shower, if each household could make a few small changes, they could save a fortune annually.”

Yorkshire Water is also working with a cohort of regional influencers to challenge them – and their followers – to a Dryer January, where they put some of the company’s tips into practice, with the aim of reducing their bills in January.