Water Efficiency Certificate
Need a plumber water efficiency certificate for your rental property? Trying to reduce your water bill and environmental impact? Conrad Martens Plumbing & Hot Water has the answer with affordable water efficiency assessments and solutions. Following the push for water conservation throughout Brisbane, many customers became increasingly water conscious. We offer simple and cost-effective solutions including:
| Water Efficiency Certificate | In-line water restrictors | Flow-disks and water saving airators |
| Water saving shower roses | Compliant toilet suite installation | WELS tapware and fix |
Our plumber must first check all of your plumbing fixtures before a WELS water efficiency compliance certificate can be supplied. By testing the flow rates of your taps and checking the flush volume of toilet cisterns, our plumbers can determine the water usage. For tapware, flow rates are measured in litres per minute. For toilets, the half and full flush are checked individually to determine how many litres are used per flush.
Significant water saving improvements can be made by installing water saving devices. These may include devices such as aerators, flow discs, inline restrictors and shower roses. These measures are cost-effective and can potentially provide significant water savings. As an example, a non-water saving all directional shower rose would commonly use around 20 litres per minute. When compared with water saving shower roses that use 9 litres per minute or less, the water savings can be immense. If more extensive improvements are required e.g. new toilet suite or tapware a quotation can be provided.
WELS – Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards:
Water saving significantly increased during the 2000s drought commonly referred to as the ‘Australian millennium drought’. During this period, water restrictions were imposed throughout Brisbane which required residents to significantly reduce their water consumption. The Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (WELS) were also introduced as Australia’s urban water saving scheme. This has involved many changes to retail standards to reduce demand for high quality drinkable water. The water efficiency of products such as taps and toilets must now be clearly displayed at the point of sale. Before a product regulated under the WELS scheme can be registered and labelled, thorough testing is performed. This laboratory testing ensures the products meet the standards for water efficiency and that they are fit for purpose.
WELS estimates show that by using water efficient products means significant savings for households. 65% of savings are due to reduced electricity and gas costs from avoided water heating. 35% of savings are due to reduced water bills. There are seven different types of water using/saving items that are regulated under the WELS scheme. These include: plumbing products: taps, showers, flow controllers, toilets and urinals. Whitegoods: dishwashers, washing machines, lavatory equipment, urinals, flow controllers.
Water Efficiency Certificate:
If you own a rental premises you may be able to charge your tenants for their water compliance certificate. Our plumbers regularly provide water efficiency plumbing reports for rental properties throughout Brisbane. Lessors and landlords are able to pass on the full water consumption charges to tenants (including the bulk water charges). This however can only implemented if the property complies with the criteria set out by the Rental Tenancies Authority (RTA).
To issue a water efficiency certificate of compliance, the property must comply with the following minimum criteria:
– Individually metered (or water delivered by vehicle), and
– Water efficient fixtures (complying with RTA standards), and
– Tenancy agreement stating the tenant must pay for water consumption
For the rental property to be considered water efficient, it must meet the following standards:
– Internal cold taps and single mixer taps (excluding bath tub and taps for appliances) – maximum 9 litres per minute
– Shower heads – maximum 9 litres per minute
– Toilets – dual flush function not exceeding 6.5 litre on full flush and 3.5 litres on half flush with a maximum average flush volume of 4 litres (based on average 1 full flush and 4 half flushes)
Please note: The rule for taps to be water efficient applies only to internal cold water taps. These are taps that may be installed over either a hand basin, kitchen sink or laundry tub (including single mixer taps). Other taps such as bath tub taps, garden taps, or taps which supply appliances i.e. washing machines or dishwashers are not required to comply with the water efficiency standards.
For more information, please refer to the RTA’s water charging fact sheet:
https://www.rta.qld.gov.au/during-a-tenancy/rent-and-other-bills/water-charging
