How do High Efficiency Showerheads and Faucets Work?

Here in Calgary, we’re extremely fortunate to have access to abundant amounts of clean, fresh water. But, as our population grows, Calgary is slowly nearing the limit of how much water we can draw from our rivers. If more Canadians continue to move to our city and our water usage doesn’t change, Calgary may face water scarcity in the future. Fortunately there are many little changes that Calgarians can make to improve their water efficiency.

High Efficiency Showerheads are one of the easiest changes to make in your life. A few decades ago high efficiency showerheads had a bad reputation for having low water pressure and an overall less enjoyable showering experience. That is no longer the case.

It wasn’t so long ago that showerheads had flow rates of 5-8 gallons per minute (GPM). But municipalities quickly caught on to the colossal waste of water that was happening. A quick 8 minute shower was wasting nearly 64 gallons of water! So today, government restrictions ensure that a typical modern showerhead uses just 2.5 GPM at a water pressure of either 80 or 60 pounds per square inch. High efficiency showerhead uses just 60% as much water, or about 1.5 GPM.

These showerheads can work a couple different ways. One way is to use an aerator that mixes air into the water. This provides a gentle,  fine, misty spray. For Calgarians who love a steamy shower rather than heavy, pounding streams, an aerating high efficiency showerhead is the obvious choice. A laminar flow showerhead, on the other hand, produces streams of water (rather than mist), and it’s the right choice for Calgarians who enjoy a massaging shower without a lot of  vapour in the air.

At Plumbing Paramedics, we like to think of saving water as a win-win-win. You save the water, you save the energy it takes to heat, clean, and transport that water, and you save money on your utility bill! It’s estimated that a family of four (in which everyone showers daily) which chooses a high efficiency showerhead could save over 10,000 gallons (over 35,000 litres) of water every year. In addition, that family would see savings of 10-15% on their utility bill as well!

Are you ready to make the switch to a high efficiency showerhead? The friendly, Calgary plumbers at Plumbing Paramedics are here to help. Give us a call today if you need help choosing and installing the right showerhead for your family.