Low flow showerheads can save you much water and thus, eco-friendly. Using low flow showerheads in taking your baths result in conserving precious natural resource whether you are aware of it or not. Additionally, since you are conserving water, also helps you save on your water bills in the process.
What is a Low Flow Showerhead?
Low flow showerheads are built to reduce your water consumption without sacrificing the quality of your shower experience. Although the shower uses less water than their regular counterparts, it however acts with a strong water spray. This makes one feel that there is more than adequate amounts of water from the shower being sprayed throughout the body.
How Much Water do Low Flow Showerheads Save?
You may have heard how low flow showerheads can save you big on your water bill. But how much water do low flow showerheads save? Low flow showerheads can save you less than 2 gallons per minute (GPM) or even up to 1.5 GPM compared to conventional showerheads that uses an average of 2.5 gallons of water per minute.
While the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires that showerheads should use water at 2 GPM or lower, newer versions of low-flow showerheads use as low as 1.5 GPM of water consumption making them 20% more water efficient.
How do Low Flow Showerheads Work?
Low flow showerheads may use reduced amounts of water, but can attain water pressure similar to their regular counterparts. Water from the shower may either be sprayed out with a powerful jet through their small openings or that water travels out mixed with air.
This said, while water pumped into the shower are restricted, the water however, comes out with a force. This makes one think that the water is strong enough to flush out dirt – making your feel fresh and clean, without pumping large amounts of water.
With the advent of technology, many modern low flow showerheads can provide you excellent water pressure as you bath without wasting too much water. Most low-flow showerheads are now designed with strong water sprays due to their unique nozzle shapes combined with the use of either low flow showerhead aerators or mini-turbines that control the water spray.
How Do Low Flow Showerheads Save Energy?
Using low flow showerheads save energy by reducing carbon footprints, thus, sustainable and environment friendly. Since an extensive explanation about the carbon footprint of water is too scientific for a common householder, let’s try to simplify it.
Carbon footprint is the measure of the amount of greenhouse gas emissions as a result of an activity. In the case of certain activities like water extraction, treatment, distribution, use, and discharge, there is the presence of carbon footprints.
For example, in the case of wastewater treatments, different types of energy are being consumed for each level of treatment. Thus, if we minimize our water consumption, we minimize the use of energy associate with our use of water.
Also, heating your water (in shower) uses water-related carbon emissions. At an average, US households heat 70% of their water by natural gas while 29% of which are heated by electricity. And electricity, as we know, is produced from different sources, among others are coal and natural gas. Coal alone is a natural source that emits the most carbon into the atmosphere. Thus, reducing water consumption will also result in reducing energy consumption.
How did the 1990’s Low Flow Showerheads Evolved with Modern Technology?
The 1990’s low flow showerheads are far different from the ones we have today. The 1990’s low flow showerheads were practically designed with few nozzles that produces reduced water with little or no water pressure. This said the bathing experience from the 1990’s low flow showerheads was longer and a bit boring. As such, people opted to switch to showerheads that can produce a big gush of water at any given time unmindful of how much water they wasted.
However, sometime in 1994, the US Government put a cap on the maximum water flow in showers to 2.5 gallons per minute (GPM). This started the modern low flow showerhead trend as answer to the government’s rising concern on water conservation. In fact, government incentives were even put in place to encourage householders to use it like rebates or tax credits to offset their purchasing costs.
But the call for more eco-friendly ways relative to water use did not end there. As matters on global and environmental sustainability become the norm, most manufacturers went the extra mile. Presently, manufacturers have designed low flow showerheads with aerators resulting to strong water pressure even for reduced amounts of water while others are designed with water saving nozzle technology. Thus, today’s low flow showerheads conserve water down to 1.5 GPM, garnering such low flow showers the popular WaterSense labels.
How Requiring Low Flow Showerheads in all Homes Can Make an Impact to Our Environment?
Based on EPA findings, if an average US family can switch to WaterSense labeled low flow showerheads they can reduce water consumption to 1.5 GPM. This said, an average U.S. family can save 2,700 gallons of water and 330 kilowatt-hours of electricity each year which is equivalent to a household using electricity straight for a week and a half.
To minimize wasting more of the world’s water resource, some governments offer incentives to households using low flow showerheads. These can be in the form of rebates or tax credits to help with their purchase and installments costs.
Due to a number of advantages resulting to the use of low flow showerheads like water conservation, energy conservation, and lower carbon emissions (not to mention water bill savings on the user’s part), just imagine how requiring low flow showerheads in all homes can collectively make an impact to our environment.
