Consider low-flow showerheads in the bathroom

Consider low-flow showerheads in the bathroom
September 22, 2011 - Lois Vitt Sale

Water, water, water! Think water conservation first when considering how to green your bathroom. Before the days of the ultra-low flow fixtures, toilets were responsible for nearly 30 percent of the water usage in a typical home. With the growing interest in sustainability, plumbing fixture manufacturers have developed a suite of new products from which to choose. So choose a dual flush toilet with a short 0.8 gallons per flush (gpf) and long flush at 1.6 gpf. (See my blog on the dual flush retrofit kit that can turn most toilets into dual flush.)

Next, retrofit or choose a showerhead with a flow rate of 1.5 gallons per minute. My shower-loving teenage boys have given me the thumbs up on a low-flow showerhead by Niagra and they are my choosiest customers.

I retrofitted my sinks with flow restrictors to cut back on the amount of water running down the sinks as well. Again, with modest investments you can begin to reduce your water footprint right away.

Finally, I installed tankless water heaters in my house. One unit serves two bathrooms and our laundry. While this doesn't save water, it does reduce the energy you use to heat water because traditional water heaters run 24/7 to maintain a supply of heated water for anytime you need it. With a tankless or "on demand" unit, you only use energy to heat water when you need it. And you can save nearly 45 percent of the energy use to heat water by switching to a tankless unit. And as a side benefit (if greening your home is your primary motivation), you will never run out of hot water. So goodbye to those complaints, "Who bogged all the hot water?"

More tips on greening the bathroom are available on ProudGreenHome.

Reader Comments

Ted Clifton

about 8 months ago

Just as in kitchens, low flow has its place. It may not be in your shower! If you are in the habit of taking quick showers each morning, staying in just long enough to get the cleansing job done, you probably will not benefit from a low flow shower head.

I remodeled my master bathroom two years ago. We have two identical shower heads in our two-lperson shower, or so we thought when we ordered them. It turned out that one is low-flow, the other is standard flow. The standard flow unit is rated at 2.25 gpm, the low-flow at 1.75 gpm. I have timed this a number of times to confirm the numbers: It takes me six minutes to take a shower (including washing my hair) using the low-flow shower head, and four minutes using the standard-flow unit. This means I am using 10.5 gallons of water to get the job done with the low-flow head, and only 9 gallons with the standard-flow head. It takes about two minutes longer just to get my full body and hair wet, soaped, and rinsed with the lower-flow shower head. This is a waste of my time, and of a small quantity of water.

On the other hand, if you are in the habit of staying in the shower for a long time, as a comfort measure, a low flow shower head could save you a lot of water and energy.

Think before you buy! Your most valuable commodity is your time, use it wisely!
Ted Clifton

about 8 months ago

I need to pick on the last paragraph, about tankless water heaters, sorry!

Tankless water heaters can save you money, if they are replacing inefficient naturally aspirated gas tank-style water heaters that are located in the garage, or otherwise outside the building envelope. However, if you live in a heating climate (as 80% of the US population does) a simple electric tank-style water heater will out-perform any gas tankless model ever made, as long as it is located inside the building envelope. How can this be? Simple, the electric tank-style water heater is 100% efficient; it is only rated at 91% to 93% because of the stand-by losses from the tank when you are not using the water. If you are heating the house anyway at that time, those stand-by losses are just helping heat your house, at an efficiency of 100%!

The notion that you can save 45% by switching to tankless is completely false. A standard-efficiency gas unit is between 54% and 56% efficient. The most efficient tankless unit is around 85% efficient (even thought they are rated at up to 98% efficient) because they are not always running at their peak designed burn rate. When you factor in that most people will use more hot water when it is available, the reality is that most people will actually use more energy after switching to a tankless how water heater, not less.

If you really want to save energy, for about the same cost as the tankless unit you can switch to a heat-pump water heater. These units are rated at 235% efficient, and can be even more efficient under some circumstances. If you are in a hot climate, and the unit is located inside the building envelope, you will be air-conditioning your house with the same energy you are using to heat your hot water! How cool is that?