ie what volume is a reasonable allocation for a normal person wanting to call themselves green?

150l or 120l or 100l or 80l or less?

I assume you mean "clean, treated, drinking water" In our house, on a meter, we are down below 100 l each. And we dont stint at all. I can't understand how people use so much

Maybe 15l shower+20l washing/washing up+20l loo+10l cooking/drinking = 65l

" I can't understand how people use so much"
Second dimengineer's comment ,above. However we do not have young children or lawns and never use tap water in the large vegetable plot and 3 greenhouses for which I have 9,000L of rainwater stored above ground.

Just had my bill today and we have used 150 lt each, Still way too high as I use less then 100 lt a day.

A simple usage calculator from the consumer council for water

http://www.ccwater.org.uk/server.php?show=nav.388

poetic licence

djh,

I am totaly with you on this, in fact said as much on a similar thread some years ago. Using drinking quality water to flush the loo is bonkers. In fact in my proposed build I intend to use rainwater for everything except drinking/dishwashing.

Posted By: joe90Using drinking quality water to flush the loo is bonkers.

Word.

However, fitting two separate water distribution systems isn't an easy option either. The case for retrofitting water harvesting isnt strong IMO, which means it really needs to be designed in from scratch. That means (like any "new build only" measure) the pace of any improvement will be glacial.

Those arguments went out the window when water got expensive, in Cornwall water is so expensive it is almost economic for retro fit of harvesting now.

Water will only get more expensive and then there is the scarcity problems.

I have 2800l we did run out three years ago in the summer but that was likely due to veggie watering use.

mains water is cheap but it is not free.

Posted By: tonyThose arguments went out the window when water got expensive, in Cornwall water is so expensive it is almost economic for retro fit of harvesting now.

Yes it is, just so the beaches are clean for the locals to let their dogs crap on them.

Water is £1.9584/cubic metre
Then the standing charge of £0.1026/day

Sewage is £3.3074/cubic metre
Then another standing charge of £0.0888/day

So my 25 Cubic Metres is going to cost me £143.02

Truth is it is not really expensive enough for me to do anything about it at around £600/year, maybe if it was triple the price I may do something. Cutting down on electricity is easy compared to water, and a lot cheaper.

Posted By: barneythen you don't get charged

You do down here, there is an assumption that you discharge unless you can prove otherwise.

Posted By: SteamyTeaTruth is it is not really expensive enough for me to do anything about it at around £600/year,

I'm dropping the idea for our build. We've very restricted space which would both make initial install of the tank expensive and replacement extremely difficult. Add power consumption of the pump plus cost/replacement cost and it has to be a long way down the list of priorities.

Odd coincidence as I have been reviewing our water consumption today. We moved into our new build in June and I wanted compare the consumption to the last houses we have lived in. For the build we designed to the water efficiency calculator to achieve under 80L/person/day in order to gain CSH credits. I also pinched a few ideas from the AECB guidelines. The things is though that in practice we are using almost exactly the same amount of water as we did in the last two houses equipped with meters.
We don't have RWH because the site size a slope preclude it and building control don't want it. Due to local geology infiltration is prohibited and all surface water must go into the combined system. We do have low flush loos, 2.5/4L, a good and very expensive washing machine bought specifically for its low water use and ditto for the dishwasher. Flow regulators on the taps and shower plus a low capacity 130L bath. We also have PRVs screwed down to about 1.5bar.
However, we still use more or less the same volume of water. WE may even be using more given that our boomerang kids are in mid flight more right now. This makes me wonder about the water efficiency calculator.

Posted By: barneyI appreciate that, but that doesn't account for rainwater discharge that you've used and diverted to foul does it ?

True


Big Sheds at Helston, would that be Lidl and Cornwall Farmers, or something to cover up the arms trade, Helston's dirty secret, apart from the Furry Dance