About
What is 50L Home?
The coalition, backed by leaders like Electrolux, IKEA, Kohler Co., and Procter & Gamble, aims to reduce daily water use per person to 50 liters (13 gallons). Through a pioneering pilot program in LA, they’ve proven it’s possible to slash domestic water and energy consumption while enhancing everyday life.
Key Pilot Results in Los Angeles:
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21% reduction in indoor water use vs. control homes
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18% reduction in energy use
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44% hot water savings from kitchen faucets
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55% hot water savings per laundry cycle
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23% overall hot water savings
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14% reduction in showers, 23% in high-efficiency toilets
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Average indoor water use: 87 liters (23 gallons) per person/day—50% less than the LA average
How It Works
The pilot retrofitted 31 homes with advanced water and energy monitoring, demonstrating that major savings are achievable without sacrificing comfort. Residents reported improved quality of life, with some even enjoying chores like laundry more due to the upgrades.
Looking Ahead
The 50L Home Coalition is expanding its efforts, with London as the next target city in 2025. This collaboration accelerates water-saving innovation worldwide, paving the way for a more sustainable, water-efficient future.
This work is also now informed by the results and forward trajectory of the Future of Water at Home architectural design challenge. The challenge concluded with a 21-page Final Report documenting all six awarded and honored projects, the jury’s insights and evaluation criteria, and a clear-eyed look at what the next generation of water-efficient homes could actually look like. Read the report here.
NEW RELEASE: LA Pilot Findings Report
The evidence behind the pilots is now published in full. The 50L Home Los Angeles Pilot Findings report documents three phases of measurement across 32 households, with submeters at six fixtures in every home and a control group tracked alongside. Retrofit homes reached 79 liters (21 gallons) per person per day, 56% below the Los Angeles average of 182 liters, while participants rated their experience 4.4 out of 5.
Notably, nobody was asked to take shorter showers. The savings came from products that worked better and removed steps. Read it for the cost-benefit math (about $890 a year in household savings, two to three year payback on kitchen and laundry bundles, and $1,574 per acre-foot for utilities at a $2,000 incentive), the behavioral findings on default settings, and the candid account of what backfired, including dual-flush toilets that pushed toilet water use up 35%. This is the measured baseline the design challenge was built on.
Design Challenge Winners & Insights
The Future of Water at Home: Architectural Design Challenge took the pilot’s results and handed them to designers. The international ideas competition drew 112 entries from nine countries and six U.S. states, across professional and student tracks, all answering one question: if we started from scratch, how would a home use water? Six projects were awarded at the California Green Building Conference in May 2026, and four more received jury commendations.
Explore the challenge including the Final Report here
*On-demand recording of September 23, 2026 webinar coming soon.
White Paper Release: The Cost of Water
The objective of the paper is to determine and measure the inherent energy and carbon expenditures associated with providing water, encompassing its transportation to Southern California, its distribution to consumers, and the effectiveness of alternative water sources.
White Paper Release: The Paradox of Cheap Water
This white paper argues that chronically underpriced water discourages conservation and infrastructure investment, and calls for a collaborative, holistic shift in how we value and price water to secure a sustainable future.
Program Partners
Click here for WBCSD / 50L Home pilot-launch Press Release!
Contact Us!
Reach out to Maureen Erbeznik, Senior Advisor, Water Innovation!
