Installing low flow shower heads is an excellent way to cut water usage. Assuming that at least one person in a household takes one shower every day, installing <a target=”_new” href=”http://www.plumbersurplus.com/Search.aspx?search=low+flow+shower+head&SSAID=317007″> <b>low flow shower heads</b></a> can save hundreds of gallons of water. And that will also reduce your water bill!
When we enjoy a long shower, we usually don’t consider all the water that goes down the drain. You don’t have to give up a nice shower with a low flow shower head.
Discharge rates for normal, code complying shower heads are 3 gallons per minute. shower heads that use that much water are not water conserving. The lowest I have seen for low flow shower heads is a <a target=”_new” href=”http://www.plumbersurplus.com/Search.aspx?search=0.5gpm+shower+head&SSAID=317007″><b>flow rate of 0.5 gpm</b></a>. And of course, reducing the length of your shower time, on top of installing water saving shower heads, can decrease the water usage even more.
Water consumption from taking showers can account for approximately 20-30% of the water consumption in a family. For example, your yearly water/sewer bill is roughly $400 and your house has two showers with standard shower heads. In addition to the expense of heating the water, taking showers might cost you 120 dollars a year. 20 minutes of showertime each day means 21,900 gallons of water each year if you have normal showerheads. You can save roughly $80 or more yearly if you replace two normal shower heads with the best low flow shower heads. This might feel like a drop in the bucket (pun intended). However, keep in mind that you will also reduce then energy used, because less water will need to be heated.
You can find low flow shower heads that will provide you with just as nice a shower as a normal shower head. The enjoyment of long showers might be reduced if you install a low flow showerhead that just cuts the flow of water, without having a special spray head. Some parents might like this if they just cannot get their teen out of the shower. I enjoy a long shower myself on occasion. Reduced showers could really help reduce water consumption.
Oxygenation is one of the techniques used in some low flow shower heads. Oxygenator showerheads mix air with the water stream which gives you a very invigorating shower experience.
Installing efficient shower heads generally has a 1-2 year payback, depending on the type of low flow shower head you have and on the cost for water/sewer in your city. If you cut your shower times, in addition to installing low flow showerheads, you will enjoy an even quicker payback time.
More is at stake than money. Clean water is already scarce. Ground water depletion and/or overtaxed water distribution systems are becoming normal in many areas.
We we cannot delay: we must start to <a target=”_new” href=”http://www.greenandsustainablehomes.org/category/water-conservation”>reduce water usage</a> today.Low flow showerheads are a outstanding and cheap opportunity to conserve water.
