The water bill arrived, and gives me the first chance to see the difference the efficient shower-head I installed in July makes.

Water consumption is down 20% compared to the same period last year, down from about 250 to 200 litres per day. And according to the little charts, we’re apparently using less water than a two-person household with no garden. I think it might be high-fives all round.

Mind you, in terms of person-nights spent at home, I count it up to be typically 13 per week at my house, whereas the theoretical two-person household would be 14. And although we have a garden, we only put greywater on it, so perhaps it’s not so surprising.

Also interesting was that the gas bill arrived, and Origin Energy are advertising a deal of a solar hot water service for $2395 including installation. Intriguingly I picked up a brochure the next day out of Marita’s junk mail that had another even cheaper offer from them: $1995, about double the cost of a conventional gas hot water service.

It sounded like a good deal, until I realised the catch is it’s in addition to your current service, which in my case is a gas system estimated to be 12 years old, thus perhaps reaching the end of its life (and may not be solar-ready). A new gas-boosted system will cost up to $1500 more, taking it up to close to $4000.

But I’m going to look into solar options a bit further, since I do have plenty of roof space that’s north-facing.