How much water does a low flow shower head save?

It’s more important than ever now that we make savings on our household bills by cutting water usage but how much water does a low flow shower head save?

Old-style showerheads can use up to 15-20 litres per minute and even some more modern ones will drain 10-12 litres per minute. So when you consider that people shower on average for 8 minutes, the amount of water consumed per person in a year flows into thousands of litres.

And even if you are not on a meter so don’t pay specifically for every drop, you are still running up the bills for heating and pumping the water.

So, say you have a pretty efficient standard showerhead – either fixed or hand-held – that has a water flow of 12 litres, with just one average 8-minute shower every day, you can see that you are going to be using 35,040 litres of water a year.

But the last thing you want is to have a disappointing shower – life is tough enough without that! And a shower head that simply throttles back on the water flow is pretty certain to deliver a less than pleasing experience.

Quality eco shower head

That’s why it pays to invest in a quality low flow eco shower head that not only saves water but does it without making your shower feel like a drudge and no fun at all. A well-manufactured shower head from a trusted brand will reduce water consumption by up to 60%, which is a big saving year on year.

With slightly different technologies, the eco showers we provide work by cleverly mixing a restricted water flow with air that pumps up the flow so that it feels like the amount of water on your skin is a higher volume.

At the same time this ingenious method helps to soften the experience of the water on your skin and the flow rate would be constant too, with full bubbling water enriched by the air.

And you will need to use less energy to heat the water and pump it through your pipe network. All in all that’s a good feeling for your wallet and great for the planet as well, with lower carbon emissions.

Shower head savings

Just to look at a couple of savings examples. Say your current shower uses 12 litres per minute and your shower lasts 8 minutes. With a hand shower head like the hansgrohe Crometta Vario Green Hand Shower 6lpm, we have calculated that you will save £64.53 a year.

Over a year, you will reduce your water consumption by 17,520 litres and lower those CO2 emissions by 0.155 tonnes.

Now, if you have a fixed shower that currently uses 15 litres per minute, you can make some amazing savings by switching to a Methven Kiri Satinjet Fixed Shower Head Ultra Low Flow. With an average daily shower of 8 minutes, the savings you make will be £96.79 a year.

Along the way, you will cut your shower water consumption by 26,280 litres and reduce CO2 emissions by 0.233 tonnes.

If you’re thinking of making some big showertime savings then our advice is to buy a flow bag, measure your current shower head water flow and then invest in one of our quality low flow shower heads.