Showers and Water Conservation

Water conservation in the U.S is not generally a topic of major public concern except for regional events related to droughts over a well-defined period of time. Its level of public attention has not reached the level of importance of electricity conservation, though the use of hot water is a primary factor in electricity consumption in today’s households. Water – particularly water used for showers – does not cost the typical consumer much:

• Water for a daily, 10-minute shower costs a typical household $20 per year.
• The amount of electricity to heat the water costs in the range of $80 per year.

Consequently, home economics alone does not justify searching for ways to shorten or improve the efficiency of showers. However, this same daily, 10-minute shower does have an impact on our potential to minimize water use. Using a regular showerhead, a single shower uses over 50 gallons of water. This can be easily reduced by 50 percent by using a standard low-flow, water-saving showerhead. However, with the need to shampoo, condition, and soap along with a growing list of additional shower treatments – steam-activated cleansing masks and mediated shampoos – the assumed 10-minute shower easily doubles to 20 minutes. Consequently, the challenge confronting the typical consumer is how to reduce a 100-gallon shower to 15 to 25 gallons. Typically, awareness is a key first step but without consequences behaviors are unlikely to change.

This article explores a specific shower monitoring device, Aqualim, and its unique approach to the challenge of reducing water use..

Aqualim – Volume vs. Time

Typically, homeowners monitor shower duration as a way to “control” water usage. Since there are a wide array of shower head designs that use different amounts of water ranging from 1 to 7 gallons of water per minute, this is not the best method. Rather, monitoring actual water consumption, or volume, is a far better way to go.

Aqualim is a new conservation product that attaches to the shower supply pipe and it is preset to limit a shower to a specific amount of water. As the counter nears this preset limit, the water pressure decreases and slows to a dribble at the limit. One can resume the shower, particularly if still soapy, by simply turning the shower off and then back on. In making users conscious of his / her usage, the chances of a significantly extended shower are small, particularly given that someone who installs an Aqualim is concerned about water conservation. Moreover, if consciousness is not enough, the annoyance of stopping and restarting will likely shorten the shower.

Interim Steps Pending Manufacturing

Keep in mind that a reduction of 5 minutes in shower time translates to a savings of between 5 and 35 gallons of water per day in the typical household or up to almost 13,000 gallons of water per year. Additional water conservation products not yet in full production, there are some interim fixes that are currently being marketed to support a conservation goal. These include:

• Shower Manager, which reduces water flow after a certain preset time period.
• “It Makes Sense Shower Head” offers users a pull chain that controls water pressure as an on-demand shower system.
• Waltek Shower Monitor tracks water temperature and shower time and starts beeping when the water has been on for 8 minutes and keeps beeping until the water is turned off.