When you’re choosing fixtures for a bathroom renovation, it is easy to focus almost entirely on how everything looks.
The tapware needs to match. The shower should feel right. The toilet has to work with the layout. Then there are finishes, colours, vanities, basins, baths and all the other decisions that come with renovating a bathroom.
Somewhere amongst all of that, you’ll probably notice a blue water rating label covered in stars.
That’s the WELS rating, and it is worth paying attention to.
The Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards scheme tells you how efficiently taps, showers, toilets and other water-using products operate. In a bathroom that may be used several times every day for the next 10 or 15 years, relatively small differences in water consumption can add up to a surprising amount of water.
But there is also more to choosing bathroom fixtures than simply finding the product with the most stars.
Here’s what Brisbane homeowners should understand about WELS ratings before choosing fixtures for a bathroom renovation.
What Is a WELS Rating?
WELS stands for Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards.
It is the Australian Government scheme used to rate the water efficiency of products including taps, showers, toilets, washing machines, dishwashers, urinals and flow controllers.
The products are tested under standardised conditions and assigned a star rating based on how much water they use.
The basic rule is simple:
The more WELS stars a product has, the more water efficient it is.
But don’t look at the stars alone.
The WELS water rating label also tells you the product’s actual water consumption.
For taps and showers, that is measured in litres per minute. For toilets, the label shows water consumption per flush, including full and half flush volumes.
That number can be extremely useful when comparing products for a renovation.
What Do WELS Stars Mean for Bathroom Taps?
Bathroom basin taps can currently receive up to a 6-star WELS rating.
Under the current rating bands:
- 3 stars: more than 7.5 to 9 litres per minute
- 4 stars: more than 6 to 7.5 litres per minute
- 5 stars: more than 4.5 to 6 litres per minute
- 6 stars: more than 1.1 to 4.5 litres per minute
For a bathroom basin, the Australian Government’s Water Rating program recommends considering a 5- or 6-star tap because a basin doesn’t generally need the same high flow rate as something like a kitchen sink.
That distinction matters.
You might want a kitchen tap to fill a large pot quickly. At a bathroom vanity, most water use involves washing hands, brushing teeth and other relatively short tasks.
Reducing the flow rate can therefore save water without necessarily making the basin less useful.
What About the Shower?
The shower is where WELS selection can have an even bigger impact because showers account for a significant portion of household water use.
Current shower ratings include:
- 3 stars: more than 7.5 to 9 litres per minute
- 4 stars: more than 6 to 7.5 litres per minute
- 5 stars: more than 4.5 to 6 litres per minute
Five stars is currently the highest WELS rating available for a shower.
On paper, dropping from a 9 litre-per-minute shower to a 6 litre-per-minute model doesn’t sound dramatic.
But that’s a reduction of around one-third every minute the shower is running.
Across several people showering every day, that difference accumulates quickly.
The Water Rating program estimates that, for a typical family of four, every 1 litre-per-minute reduction in shower flow can save nearly 12,000 litres of water each year.
That means the difference between two showerheads can amount to tens of thousands of litres over a year, depending on how often and how long the shower is used.
Does a Higher WELS Rating Mean a Weak Shower?
This is probably the biggest concern homeowners have when looking at water-efficient showerheads.
Nobody spends money renovating a bathroom because they want a disappointing shower.
But flow rate and shower quality are not necessarily the same thing.
In fact, 4- and 5-star WELS showerheads have to undergo additional performance testing to ensure they provide appropriate spray coverage and spray force.
Modern showerheads can use nozzle design, spray patterns and pressure characteristics to create a satisfying shower while using considerably less water than an older high-flow showerhead.
That’s why it is worth comparing the actual fixtures rather than assuming that the model using the most water will automatically provide the best shower.
There are still differences between products, of course. The right shower also needs to suit the home’s plumbing, available water pressure and the preferences of the people using it.
What Do WELS Ratings Mean for Toilets?
Toilets are rated differently because water use is measured by the amount used when flushing rather than litres per minute.
Most modern Australian toilets use a dual-flush system, and the WELS rating considers expected use of both the full and reduced flush.
A typical 6 litre/3 litre dual-flush toilet is around the 3-star level, while a typical 4.5 litre/3 litre dual-flush toilet achieves around 4 stars.
This is particularly relevant when renovating an older bathroom.
Older single-flush toilets can use 9 litres or more every time they are flushed.
Replacing one with a modern 4-star dual-flush toilet can potentially reduce toilet water consumption by more than half.
Again, this isn’t an upgrade you’ll notice by looking at the finished bathroom.
But you’ll be using the toilet every day for years after the renovation has been completed.
Does the Bath Need a WELS Rating?
Interestingly, bath outlets are generally treated differently.
Tap equipment used exclusively over a bath or spa bath is excluded from the WELS product requirements that apply to normal basin, sink and laundry tapware.
There is a practical reason for that.
A bath needs a fixed volume of water regardless of how quickly the water comes out of the tap. Restricting the flow would mostly mean waiting longer for the bath to fill rather than substantially changing how much water is ultimately used.
This is a good example of why WELS isn’t simply about reducing flow everywhere in the house.
It is about using water efficiently where reducing consumption actually makes sense.
Are There Minimum WELS Ratings for a Queensland Bathroom Renovation?
This part can become confusing because requirements for new homes and requirements for renovations are not exactly the same in Queensland.
Queensland requires new houses, townhouses and relevant residential units to use minimum water-efficient fixtures, including 4-star dual-flush toilets and 3-star taps and showerheads.
That doesn’t mean you should simply buy any plumbing fixture you find online.
Plumbing products still need to meet the applicable Australian product, registration and installation requirements, and plumbing work should be carried out by appropriately licensed trades.
For the homeowner, the simplest approach is to treat the WELS rating as one of the important product specifications considered alongside design, quality, suitability and installation requirements.
WELS and WaterMark Are Not the Same Thing
You may also see another mark when shopping for bathroom fixtures: WaterMark.
WELS and WaterMark tell you two different things.
- WELS tells you about the product’s water efficiency.
- WaterMark relates to whether regulated plumbing products comply with the required plumbing product standards.
Plumbing products regulated under the WELS scheme must have the relevant WaterMark certification before they can be registered under WELS.
This becomes particularly important when homeowners are sourcing unusual or inexpensive tapware and bathroom fixtures online.
A product looking good in a photograph doesn’t necessarily mean it is appropriate for installation in an Australian bathroom.
You can check products through the Australian Government’s WELS product database if you are unsure about a particular model.
Water Efficiency Can Also Reduce Hot Water Use
There is another cost that is easy to overlook when comparing showers and basin taps.
Not all of the water coming out of them is cold.
Every litre of hot water used in the bathroom first has to be heated.
Reducing shower water consumption can therefore reduce both water use and the amount of energy required to heat that water.
The exact saving will depend on the household, shower habits, hot water system, water temperature and energy tariff, but the principle is straightforward.
A more water-efficient shower isn’t only sending less water down the drain. It can also mean heating less water in the first place.
Over the life of a renovated bathroom, that is worth considering.
Should You Always Choose the Highest WELS Rating?
Not necessarily.
The best fixture is one that combines water efficiency with the performance, quality and functionality the bathroom actually needs.
For example, a highly efficient basin tap may make perfect sense because relatively little flow is required for normal hand washing.
For a shower, you may want to compare several efficient models to find the spray pattern and feel you prefer.
Other considerations can include:
- water pressure at the property
- hot water system capacity
- fixture quality
- availability of replacement parts
- manufacturer warranty
- ease of cleaning and maintenance
- how the fixture works with the bathroom design
- WELS registration and WaterMark certification where required
That’s why selecting bathroom fixtures should be part of the renovation planning process rather than an afterthought once everything else has been designed.
A Bathroom Renovation Is the Perfect Time to Improve Water Efficiency
You probably wouldn’t rip apart an otherwise good bathroom simply to replace every fixture with a more efficient version.
But when the bathroom is already being renovated, the equation changes.
The shower, tapware and toilet are already being selected or replaced. Choosing efficient products at that point doesn’t require another renovation later.
It is an opportunity to improve something you will use every day without compromising the overall design of the room.
And because bathroom fixtures can remain in service for many years, the decision you make during the renovation can influence household water and hot water consumption long after the project is finished.
Planning a Bathroom Renovation in Brisbane?
A successful bathroom renovation isn’t only about choosing tiles and colours.
Good planning means thinking about how the bathroom will work every day, from its layout and storage through to the plumbing fixtures you’ll rely on for years to come.
At Briswest Renovations, we help homeowners work through the practical decisions behind their renovation as well as the finished design.
If you’re considering renovating your Brisbane bathroom, talk to Briswest Renovations about creating a bathroom that looks good, works properly and makes sense for the way your household actually uses it.