Wednesday, February 4, 2009

The New Shower Head

Did you know that a family of four people each showering five minutes a day can use about 700 gallons per week? Put in terms of every day living, that is close to a three-year drinking water supply for one person! With water supply being an issue in some parts of the country, this is really some thing to think about. If we use water-conserving shower heads and faucet aerators instead, the family of 4 can typically cut their water consumption in half - saving approx. 14,000 gallons of H2O.

So to reduce our water consumption, Jason installed the new "eco" shower head in our master bathroom today. No, it is not made out of old pop cans and a bag hooked to a tree -it's a lower-flow shower head. Now don't turn off, just because it is a lower flow does not mean it is a drizzly trickle - it feels just the same. Here's the scoop, regular shower heads flow at 2.5 gallons per minute (gpm) at regular pressure standards. Our new head flows at 2.0 gpm (they go as low 1.75 gpm). So in our home this change results in a 20% reduction in water usage for the adult showers. Jason and I each take a 5 minute morning shower. The .5 gpm reduction doesn't seem like much - but over 2 showers that is 5 gallons/day, 150+/30 days, and 1,825 gallons/year. It adds up quickly. Not only are we saving water, we are also are saving the gas it would take to heat 1,825 gallons of hot water to 120 degrees. One more way to consume and pay less!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

you will have to tell us if there is any difference with it VS the old one......in how it feels and such. that is great!!!
I have also been turning down our heat and its CRAZY how my body adapts to the change. I can't wait to see my next gas bill to see the difference. (I hope its better then that last one! good grief!!)

april said...

Feels great, and hopefully saving!