How Much Does a Shower Cost?
An eight-minute shower costs roughly 30 to 60p in energy and water on a typical tariff, depending on the heater type.
In short
An eight-minute shower with an electric shower unit uses about 1.1 kWh of electricity, around 28p at typical rates, plus roughly 60 to 80 litres of water. A power shower from a hot water tank uses more water but gas-heated water is cheaper per unit. Most eight-minute showers cost between 30p and 60p all in, so a daily shower is 100 to 220 a year per person.
Hot water is one of the largest energy uses in a home, and the shower is where most of it goes. The cost per shower is small enough to ignore and, multiplied by a household and a year, large enough that it should not be.
Electric showers
An electric shower heats water on demand with an element rated at 7.5 to 10.5 kW. Running an 8.5 kW unit for eight minutes uses about 1.1 kWh. At 25p per kWh, that is around 28p of electricity.
Water use is modest, since the element limits flow to roughly 5 to 8 litres a minute. Eight minutes is 40 to 65 litres. On a water meter at typical combined water and sewerage rates, that is another 12 to 20p.
Total: about 40 to 50p for an eight-minute electric shower.
Mixer and power showers from a hot water tank
These draw hot water heated by a gas boiler or an immersion heater. Flow is higher, often 10 to 15 litres a minute for a power shower, so eight minutes can use 80 to 120 litres.
Heating that water by gas costs less per unit than electricity. Raising 100 litres from 10°C to 40°C takes about 3.5 kWh; at a gas rate of around 6.5p, that is 23p, plus boiler inefficiency, so perhaps 27p. Add water at 25 to 35p for the higher volume.
Total: about 50 to 60p for an eight-minute power shower, with the balance shifted from energy to water.
If the tank is heated by an immersion heater on standard-rate electricity, the same shower costs over 1, because electricity is four times the price of gas.
Over a year
One person, one eight-minute shower a day:
- Electric shower: about 150 to 180
- Gas-heated power shower: about 180 to 220
- Immersion-heated: about 350 to 400
A household of four multiplies each figure by four. That is the number worth knowing.
What reduces it
Time. Cost scales almost exactly with minutes. Four minutes halves it. A waterproof timer or a playlist of one song is the usual method.
Flow. A water-saving head on a mixer or power shower cuts flow from 12 or more litres a minute to around 8, reducing both water and the energy to heat it by a third. Electric showers already run at low flow.
Temperature. A degree or two cooler is a small saving on a mixer shower and nothing on an electric one, where the element runs at fixed power and lower temperature just means higher flow.
Tariff timing. With an off-peak tariff, heating a tank overnight makes every morning shower cheaper. Electric showers cannot benefit, since they heat on demand.
Perspective
A shower is not where a household’s money leaks fastest. A tumble dryer load costs about the same as two showers, and heating dwarfs both. But the shower is daily and personal, which makes it one of the few energy costs where a change of habit, four minutes instead of eight, saves a real amount without buying anything.
Common questions
Is a bath cheaper than a shower?
Usually not. A bath holds around 80 to 100 litres and all of it is heated. An eight-minute shower at a typical 8 to 10 litres a minute uses a similar volume; a four-minute shower uses half. Short showers beat baths; long power showers do not.
How much does a four-minute shower save?
Roughly half the cost, since water and energy use scale with time. A household of four each cutting from eight minutes to four saves in the region of 200 to 400 a year.
Does a water-saving shower head help?
Yes, noticeably, on mixer and power showers where flow is high. A regulated head brings flow to about 8 litres a minute from 12 or more, cutting both water and the energy to heat it. Electric showers already have low flow, so the gain there is small.
Sources
Every factual claim above traces to one of these. Follow them rather than taking this article's word for it.
- Energy price cap Ofgem
- Household expenditure statistics Office for National Statistics
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