For quite a long time, this is what I thought of when I heard about low flow shower heads:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlrtQb24Qxw?rel=0]
That is, that they don’t give you enough pressure to even wash shampoo out of your hair. As funny as the running joke was through this Seinfeld episode, low flow shower head technology has evolved to a point where they can provide you with plenty of pressure, while still cutting down on your water consumption, and helping you save money and go green in the process.
How much water you can save
It may seem crazy, but up to 25% of your household’s total energy consumption can come just from hot water usage, with showers being the biggest contributor to that amount (approximately 15% of a household’s total energy consumption). While the efficiency of low flow shower heads can range, you can expect to save anywhere from 25% to 50% of the amount of water you’re using for every shower. For a 10 minute shower, that means saving anywhere from 10 gallons to 20 gallons. Depending on the type of energy you use to heat your water, this could save you up to $100 on energy costs every year.
The Pressure Question
Just like in the Seinfeld clip above, despite the amount of water saved, some may think a low flow showerhead simply doesn’t have enough pressure to justify making the switch. However, if you install a showerhead with multiple pressure settings like the new Flow showerhead made by Caroma, you can select whether you want more coverage, or stronger pressure in a narrower stream. Rest assured, you won’t have to worry about getting shampoo out of your hair.
Going green at home is easy
Thanks to great innovations, it has never been easier to make environmental choices at home that help you and your family go green, and still help your bottom line. This summer, take the initiative to make a few small changes to live a greener lifestyle – and why not start with a low flow showerhead? Most models are under $20 at your local hardware store, and can be installed on standard shower arms in under 5 minutes.
If you’ve had great success with saving energy with a low flow showerhead, recommend the product to us in the replies.
These “latest technology” shower heads are every bit as bad as depicted on that Seinfeld episode. I just had one imposed on me yesterday and a shower that normally would take me five minutes now took almost half an hour. I never really did come out clean. This is like that awful “green” toilets that you have to flush three times in order to empty. All this “saving water” stuff is a huge scam. Of course, a person loving a socialist country like Canada would be all for it!