Gone are the days when ‘environmentally friendly’ was an option. These days it is more important than ever to be ‘green’. However with this increasing urgency around reducing our impact on the environment there has also been an insurgence in new innovations to help us meet this end.

Water usage is of major relevance to anyone living in Australia whether you are building a new home or not and we have had water restrictions imposed on us for many years. As a nation Australia has embraced water restrictions and accepted them as a part of life- however when we consider the gravity of the problem are we really doing enough?

If we imagine all of the water on earth as 1 litre of water- then the fresh water supply available to world is equivalent to just half a teaspoon. Yes that’s right half a teaspoon. So is it any wonder that water conservation is such a hot topic? There are many ways however that we can reduce our water usage and this includes including some handy design elements when building a new home- or even updating your existing house.

In the home the highest level of water usage actually occurs in the bathroom. This being largely due to the fact that the average shower takes eight minutes. The Half a Teaspoon Program (a program designed to help raise awareness about the urgency of the worlds limited water resources) have designed a “Shower Watch” for the bathroom. Shower Watch is a pre-programmed timer installed in the shower and provides the user with a four minute time slot in which to shower. This is effective and can easily be implemented when building a new home or into your existing residence.

The Shower Watch brings awareness of time for the user- however it does not limit the time spent in the shower. The idea is to encourage awareness and making a conscious choice to make efforts towards conserving our limited resources.

By doing something as simple as limiting the time we spend in the shower you really are making a massive difference to our average water consumption. “Shower Watch” simply creates awareness

of time and as a result stimulates the conscious use of precious water – an action that a good home builder will fully support. Don’t forget to include Shower Watch in your design plans when building a new home.