With water prices rising and sustainability targets tightening, efficient washroom control has never mattered more, explains Richard Braid.
ighter rules on water use, and higher costs hitting business customers, means the case for better control of urinals, taps and toilets has never been clearer. The Environment Act 2021 has set a target to reduce daily water consumption to 122 litres/person by 2038 and 110 litres by 2050. That’s a challenge that can only be met with the right technology and the right know-how from installers.
The cost of leaks
While it’s easy to focus on heating and power, water can quietly drain profits if left unchecked. The Competition and Markets Authority recently approved further price increases for five major suppliers, adding another 3% to bills this year on top of last year’s 24% rise. Every unnecessary flush, unnoticed drip or leaking seal is costing more than ever, not just in money but in carbon.
A dripping tap can waste over 5,000 litres a year, pushing up both water and wastewater charges. A typical urinal cistern flushing three times an hour, every hour, can use almost 200 cubic metres of water a year, wasting hundreds of pounds. Multiply that by several urinals across a site and the cost quickly becomes significant. A leaky toilet can lose hundreds of litres of water every day; a rippling toilet might cost around £500 a year, but if water is constantly flowing, you could be looking at bills raised by £6,000 every year.
These issues all point to the problem of uncontrolled water use; a priority for businesses and facility managers.
Smarter solutions
Cistermiser’s range of sensor-based controls provides a straightforward answer to these challenges, helping installers offer clients measurable savings in both consumption and emissions.
The Direct Flush system, designed for urinals, uses passive infrared (PIR) technology to trigger flushing only when a unit has been used. A hygienic rinse is automatically carried out every 12 hours if unused, keeping facilities clean without wasting water. This approach can cut water use by up to 70%, saving around 182,000 litres and more than £550 per urinal each year – that’s before factoring in the carbon benefit of reduced treatment and pumping.
For toilets, the Easyflush EVO eliminates the common cause of leaks found in traditional flush valves – a worn seal below the waterline. Removing this failure point entirely delivers a leak-free design that saves around 146m3 of water per toilet annually, worth around £443, while reducing associated CO2 by 0.05 tonnes.
For handwashing facilities, the Vecta+ sensor tap range provides controlled flow at five litres/min, shutting off automatically after use to prevent leaks or people accidentally leaving the tap running. In busy commercial washrooms, each fitting can save around 161 cubic metres of water per year compared with standard taps, improving hygiene and with a typical payback in under a year.
These systems are designed for easy installation and retrofitting, making them suitable for small-to-medium commercial sites and helping installers offer transparent, evidence-backed savings.
The carbon connection
Every cubic metre of water supplied and treated carries a carbon footprint of roughly 0.34kg CO2, so reducing waste directly cuts emissions.
Across a typical commercial washroom, replacing uncontrolled urinals, leaking toilets and standard taps with Cistermiser’s efficient sensor systems can save hundreds of pounds in bills and significant CO2 every year. Companies can even include this in their environmental reporting.
For installers, offering water management solutions is a simple way to add value, strengthen relationships and tap into the fast-growing area of sustainable building services. Water efficiency is no longer a ‘nice-to-have’, it’s a commercial necessity that benefits budgets, aids compliance and reduces carbon.
Richard Braid is Managing Director of Cistermiser.
