What is the WELS rating?
WELS is Australia’s water efficiency labelling and standards scheme.
The Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (WELS) scheme is designed to help you choose more water efficient products for your home or your business.
Using water efficient products could save Australians more than $2 billion by 2030. That’s an average saving of $175 per household each year.
- 65%of these savings are from reduced electricity and gas costs from avoided water heating.
- 35%of these savings are from reduced water bills.
If you actively replace inefficient products with efficient ones, you could save even more.
Find out how to use water rating information to compare and choose water efficient products when you’re shopping online or in store here.
Products regulated under the WELS scheme:
- Plumbing products: taps, showers, flow controllers, toilets and urinals.
- Whitegoods: clothes washing machines and dishwashers.
How products are tested?
SHOWERS
Showers are tested for:
- angle at which water sprays from the head (to be between 0°and 8°)
- drop in temperature between 150 mm and 750 mm below the shower head (no more than 3°C)
- endurance of the flow controller by being turned on and off around 50,000 times
- spray force and coverage (4 star showers only)
- watertightness
- water consumption.
Hoses for handheld models are also tested for performance.
TAPWARE
Tapware products are tested for:
- endurance of tap components 50,000 on/off cycles
- hydraulic strength
- torque of joints
- watertightness
- water consumption
- water temperature test from hot to cold and back again every 55 cycles.
You can find more information on all other product testing methods here.
For more information about WELS go to www.waterrating.gov.au/