Installing low-flow showerheads and faucet aerators is usually very easy, and it will allow your household to make a significant reduction in the amount of water and the associated energy you use, with no negative impact. They are inexpensive and pay for themselves quickly, especially if you also take shorter showers and avoid running water in the sink when you don't need to.
Savings
The Low-Carbon Diet estimates that you can reduce your annual C02 emissions by 250 pounds for each low-flow showerhead you install.
What to Do
Start by taking an inventory of the faucets and showerheads in your home to find out which ones have low-flow devices already and which ones don’t. The aerator screws into the end of your faucet. See More Info for a link to more detailed information.
Showerheads are a little trickier. Newer showerheads might have flow rates listed on them. You can always get a bucket and see how long it takes your shower to fill up one gallon; low-flow showerheads should have flow rates of 1.8 gallons per minute (gpm) or less.
Bring the old heads with you to the store. Your local hardware store should be able to help you find good replacements. Larger stores like Home Depot will also carry a good selection.
Installing a low-flow showerhead is typically not difficult. You can probably do it yourself with a wrench and a little Teflon tape. If you’re going to do the installation yourself, turn off the water at the faucet or shower and unscrew the heads. If you’re not the handy type, see if a friend or neighbor can help, or call a plumber.
Faucet aerators typically just screw onto your faucet and tools are not required.
Over the next 3-6 months, check your household water and fuel usage (or electric bill if you have an electric hot water heater) to see if you’re actually saving water and energy. If you don’t see any savings, see if you can figure out why. Maybe you are using extra water and energy in other areas of your household. Checking your usage is a good way to get a complete picture of your household resource consumption. Keep in mind that installing low-flow devices doesn’t do as much good if you are increasing usage in other areas at the same time.
Fast Facts
Installing low-flow showerheads and faucet aerators can easily cut water usage (and associated energy use for heating hot water) by 50%.
Faucet aerators mix tiny air bubbles in with the water, reducing water usage without compromising effectiveness. They can reduce water usage from 2-7 gallons per minute (gpm) to as little as 0.5 gpm.
A conventional showerhead uses 3-7 gpm. Low-flow showerheads only use 1.3-2.5 gpm, saving thousands of gallons per year. Consider the following example:
Old showerhead: 4 gpm; new showerhead: 1.5 gpm
Five showers per person per week, 10 minutes per shower
Annual water savings per person = 6,500 gallons
With water costs of 1-2 ¢/gallon, this can save $65-130 per person per year for a showerhead that costs $15-60. Energy cost savings for heating hot water are even greater!
Because water from sinks and showers (also called greywater, grey water, or gray water) is mixed with toilet waste, it all gets sent to the sewage treatment plant. So by reducing your greywater, you reduce downstream water treatment loads, thereby saving energy and reducing carbon emissions.
Water use = energy use. Energy is required for purification, pumping, wastewater treatment, as well as for heating hot water in your home. According to the EPA, if even one out of every 100 American homes installed water-efficiency devices, we could save about 100 million kWh of electricity per year—avoiding 80,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to taking about 15,000 cars off the road.
