Low Flow Showers
DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH WATER YOU BUSINESS IS WASTING?
Recommended Showerheads - Low Flow Showerheads
Surprisingly few businesses know the rate they pay for their water. Averages in the UK run between £1.00 and £2.40 per cubic metre( M3). This is because you pay for the water you use twice, once when it comes in, and once when it goes out. For water intensive industries such as Hotels, Care Homes, Hospitals, Educational Establishments and Sports Clubs, this amounts to a significant cost, both to your business and the environment.
Showers
In the UK there is no agreed definition of a water-efficient showerhead. Also, the amount of water a shower uses depends very much on the person using it. For example what the flow rate is and how long they shower. A quick three minute shower with the flow adjusted to a comfortable five litres per minute uses only 15 litres of water, whilst 10 minutes at 15 litres per minute will use ten times as much water and energy without making us any cleaner.
The ket p;oint to remember is that this is HOT water, meaning there has been an additional cost to heat it.
In trials by Liverpool John Moores University 14, fitting an aerated showerhead was effective in reducing flow-rate by 28 per cent (3.2 litres per minute) on average, whilst improving or only marginally reducing customer satisfaction with the shower performance. Despite the reduced flow rate, eight of the nine households where an aerated showerhead was fitted asked to keep it.
Water efficient showers are important for saving water, energy and carbon. They also allow a comfortable shower without using up all the hot water when storage capacity is limited.
Many showerheads have no flow regulation and so the maximum flow rate is only limited by the available water pressure. Trials by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) suggest that most people find flow rates of less than three litres per minute in a shower unacceptable. Currently there are no upper limits on flows in the UK, while in the US the maximum flow rate is 9.5 litres per minute.
Bathers are interested in comfort and only a handful of people have any idea how much water their shower uses. However, it is commonly assumed that flow equals comfort and so most manufacturers are hesitant to make water efficiency claims for their products and indeed boast of high flow rates.
'Water-saver’ showerheads usually work by creating finer drops or by incorporating air into the flow. Typically, these showerheads require a pressure of at least one bar, which is available from mains pressure and pumped systems but rarely from gravity-feed hot water systems. These water-saver showers typically work at a flow rate of between four and nine litres per minute, and the effect is usually perceived as a ‘power shower’ but with perhaps half the flow rate.
If you have any queries or wish to make an appointment, please contact us:
+44 01252 338777+44 01252 338777
Or use our contact form.
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