Water Saving Products Jargon Buster

Don’t know your ‘EcoSmart’ from your ‘Flow Rate’? Get the answer to these and more in our handy guide to our Water Saving Products Jargon Buster

½ Inch Connection (Shower Hoses)

• This refers to the diameter of the hose where it connects to the shower head and the shower unit.
• This is the industry standard for shower hose connections.
• With only a few, extremely rare, alternatives this connection is termed universal.

10mm (3/8 Inch) Connection (Taps)

• This refers to the size of the connection or the flexible tail or pipe from the tap which is to be fixed to the mains plumbing.
• 10mm is the standard continental basin & kitchen tap connection, while 15mm is the UK standard.
• All hansgrohe taps come with 3/8” inch connections. To fit these in the UK your plumber will need to use a small 15mm to 10mm compression reducer, these are commonly available at DIY and plumbing stores.

15mm (½ Inch) Connection (Taps)

• This refers to the size of the connection or the flexible tail or pipe from the tap which is to be fixed to the mains plumbing.
• This is the standard UK basin & kitchen tap connection.
  22mm (¾ Inch) Connection (Taps)
• This refers to the size of the connection or the flexible tail or pipe from the tap which is to be fixed to the mains plumbing.
• This is the standard UK bath tap connection.

Bar

• Bar is the most common system for measuring water pressure.
• Typically household pressure is between 1 and 3 bar, although water pressure can vary within your home according to your plumbing and numerous other factors.
• The vast majority of households will experience no problems with our water saving products.

BREEAM Rating

• Stands for: Building Research Establishment’s Energy Assessment Method
• This is the industry leading environmental rating system that sets the standard for best practice in assessing how sustainable a building is.
• Not just specific to water products, the system gives an overall rating for a building marked on how environmentally friendly it is.
• For more information visit the BREEAM website.

Dirt Filter

• This is a small mesh in the handle of a shower head which filters out dirt and build-ups of limescale before they can clog the shower head.

EcoSmart

• EcoSmart is the term hansgrohe use to describe any of their products which are cleverly designed to reduce water consumption.
• EcoSmart products use up to 60% less water when compared to non-water-saving alternatives.

Female

• Female refers to the type of thread on a fitting. On a female fitting the thread is concealed and screws onto a male exposed thread.
• See our guide ‘Will a tap aerator fit my tap?’ for a visual aid.

Flexible Tail

• Flexible tails are an alternative to copper piping which take water from the mains to a tap or fitting.
• Flexible tails have two advantages: 1) they allow for taps to be fitted in awkward areas, 2) they are simpler to fit compared with copper piping as piping must be sawn exactly to size and may need to be soldered.

Flow Rate

• The amount of water an appliance uses over a set amount of time.
• It is commonly measured in litres per minute (lpm).

LPM

• LPM stands for litres per minute.
• This is the standard measure for flow rate: how much water an appliance, like a shower or tap, is using.
• For example, a shower head running at 12 lpm used for 5 minutes will use 60 litres of water.

M24/m22/m20/m19

• M24, m22, m20, and m19 are variants of tap aerator.
• The number in each refers to the outer diameter of the aerator housing. For example, an m24 aerator is an aerator which has an outer diameter of 24mm.

Male

• Male refers to the type of thread on a fitting. On a male fitting the thread is exposed and screws into a female concealed thread.
• See our guide ‘Will a tap aerator fit my tap?’ for a visual aid.

PCA

• PCA stands for Pressure Compensating Aerator.
• A pressure compensating aerator will always have the same litres per minute output, above a small threshold, regardless of your water pressure.
• With a PCA aerator you can make significant water savings even if you have very high water pressure.

Pop-Up Waste

• Waste systems go in the basin below the tap and replace traditional plugs.
• You operate a pop-up waste with a lever behind the tap which opens or closes the plug by lifting or lowering the lever respectively.

Pressure

• Pressure is the force the water travels through your piping, it is measured in bar.

Push-Open Waste

• Waste systems go in the basin below the tap and replace traditional plugs.
• You operate a push-open waste by pushing the part in the basin which then clicks open or closed.

Raindance

• This is hansgrohe’s term for the products they manufacture which combine air with water to reduce flow rate.

Rub-it

• This is hansgrohe’s term for a flexible silicon heads on their taps and shower heads. These make it easy to rub off limescale making their appliances easy to clean.

SLC

• Stands for Smart Limescale Cleaning
• This is a small, flexible, silicon head on the end of an aerator which makes limescale build up easy to rub off and keep clean.

Spray Pattern

• The arrangement of the jets on a shower head to create a particular water effect or shape.

Thread

• Thread is the term used to describe the pattern of grooves on a pipe or appliance which allows another pipe or appliance to be screwed onto, or into, it.
• Threads can be exposed or concealed, where exposed threads are easily visible and on the outside and concealed threads are less visible and on the inside.
• A fitting with an exposed thread is called male and a concealed thread is called female. Only opposite thread types will screw together. For example, a male aerator will screw into a tap with a female thread.

Variable Spray

• Variable spray is a feature of a shower head which allows you to switch between different spray patterns.

WRAS

• WRAS stands for the Water Regulations Advisory Scheme.
• This is an organisation which awards products unique numbers to confirm compliance with water usage guidelines.
• These guidelines aim to minimise waste and prevent water contamination.
• A WRAS number acts as an assurance to the customer that they are buying a quality product.