MPs call for water efficiency measures to be included in ECO4

A group of cross-party MPs and members of the House of Lords are urging the government to include water saving products in the latest iteration of the Energy Company Obligation (ECO).

The group, spearheaded by Conservative backbencher Henry Smith, has written an open letter to chancellor Jeremy Hunt outlining the benefits of the widescale adoption of water efficiency technologies, such as lowering household energy bills and reducing nitrates.

It highlights how legislation surrounding ECO only allows for technologies that reduce the heating costs of properties.

“This completely misses the fact that up to 40% of energy used in a home is used to heat water. Conversely, these products are already recognised as a successful tool by government – evidenced by their inclusion in the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme,” it said.

As a way of mitigating this issue, the coalition of MPs and peers suggests using secondary legislation to retrospectively add water saving products into ECO4 which it says is a “quick fix” which has potential to reduce energy bills en-masse.

Illustrating the benefits of such technologies further, the group highlights a study by the University of Liverpool which examined a pilot commissioned by Crawley Borough Council.

It found that one technology, a device named Control Flow, reduced domestic water wastage by up to 23% and that over a 12 week period, a projected average annual saving in energy bills of £287 and water of £93 was achieved.

Elsewhere it adds that water efficiency measures can boost the building of new homes by addressing water scarcity concerns at development sites.

The letter says: “You will of course be aware that in certain local authorities in England, housing developments have been suspended or stopped altogether due to concerns surrounding nitrate and phosphorous levels. In fact, some 120,000 new build homes are currently stuck in the development process due to concerns about water stress and nitrate concentrations in the local water catchment area.

“The Drinking Water Inspectorate has recently highlighted that household mains water contains 50mg of nitrates per litre. Therefore, each litre of water saved with Control Flow results in a saving of 50 nitrates.

“By extensively implementing water efficiency technologies in housing development sites across England, we can not only resume paused developments but also mitigate the environmental impact of nitrates reintroduced into rivers and streams through wastewater processes.”

The letter has been signed by 19 MPs and peers, including former Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron and former Green Party head Caroline Lucas. It has also been signed by Baroness Kate Parminter, chair of the Lords’ Environment and Climate Change Committee.

The full list of signatories is:

• Henry Smith, Member of Parliament for Crawley
• Daisy Cooper, Member of Parliament for St Albans
• Tim Farron, Member of Parliament for Westmorland & Lonsdale
• Marion Fellows, Member of Parliament for Motherwell & Wishaw
• Richard Foord, Member of Parliament for Tiverton & Honiton
• Wera Hobhouse, Member of Parliament for Bath
• Ben Lake, Member of Parliament for Ceredigion
• Caroline Lucas, Member of Parliament for Brighton, Pavilion
• Helen Morgan, Member of Parliament for North Shropshire
• Andrew Percy, Member of Parliament for Brigg & Goole
• Baroness Bakewell
• Baroness Berridge
• Viscount Bridgeman
• Rt Hon Lord Foster of Bath
• Baroness Golding
• Baroness Harris of Richmond
• Baroness Parminter
• Rt Hon Lord Stunell
• Baroness Walmsley