By 2013, the EPA estimates that there’s going to be 36 states that will face catastrophic water shortages. (Photo courtesy of Energy Star)
Even if it meant saving a lot of hot water,
many people would rather stick with their
old showerheads. That’s because low-flow
showerheads often don’t measure up. Lester
Graham met up with Greenovation TV’s Matt
Grocoff to put new showerheads to the test:
Transcript
Even if it meant saving a lot of hot water,
many people would rather stick with their
old showerheads. That’s because low-flow
showerheads often don’t measure up. Lester
Graham met up with Greenovation TV’s Matt
Grocoff to put new showerheads to the test:
Showers use a lot more water than you might think. At 2.5 gallons a minute, a ten minute shower means 25 gallons of heated water.
Matt Grocoff has been testing some new shower heads in his home in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He says if you’re not thinking about saving water now, chances are you will be.
“By 2013, the EPA estimates that there’s going to be 36 states that will face catastrophic water shortages.”
Matt says, you might have tried a low-flow shower head before and gave up on it.
Matt: “With old school low-flow shower heads, it was a huge sacrifice. They didn’t work. They just constricted the flow. With these new high-tech shower heads that have been completely re-designed, they’re so much better you’re going to sacrifice zero comfort.”
Lester: “We’re going to test your theory, ‘cause we brought our resident skeptic. Jessi Ziegler’s our Production Coordinator at The Environment Report. And, what do you like about showers?”
Jessi: “I am a self-proclaimed shower snob. Long. Hot. High-pressure.”
Matt: “I guarantee you, you’re going to consider these showers a luxurious shower.”
Lester: “Let’s check it out.”
(sound of walking)
The first shower head Matt shows us is a Bricor.
Matt: “The one we have here uses only 1 gallon-per-minute.”
Lester: “Roll up your sleeve. Let’s get in there.”
Jessi: “I don’t know. The pressure is not as high as I would like. I mean, I want it to feel like a fire hydrant just got opened up, and this is a little bit drippy for me.”
Matt: “Alright, so you’re going to need a little bit more than this one?”
Jessi: “I need more oomph.”
Matt: “Let’s first go try the one down in the basement.”
(sound of stairs)
The second model is a Hansgrohe–Croma which uses 1.6 gallons-per-minute.
Matt: “Now that one’s going to have a whole lot more flow, but feel just as good as a 2.5.”
Jessi: “Okay. We’ll see about this. (sound of shower) Eh, it’s okay. It’s alright.”
Matt: “You are tough.”
Jessi: “I am tough. I mean I grew up with high school locker room showers. I’m used to like 1950s – whoosh – five-million gallons-a-minute.”
Matt: “Is it a good drenching shower, this one?”
Jessi: “It does have a wide surface area. That’s nice.”
We head up to the second floor where Matt has one more chance to impress Jessi with this new generation of high efficiency shower heads.
Matt: “Alright! So with that oomph, would you say that’s as good as the shower head you have at home?”
Jessi: “It’s up there.”
Matt: “What if I told you if you replace your shower head, this shower head will save you $100 a year on your utility bill.”
Jessi: “It would really save me $100 a year?”
Matt: “For the average sized home, changing one single shower head will save you over 11,000 gallons of water. But it’s not just saving water, it’s saving you hot water. And so it’s saving you electricity or gas to heat that.”
But, Matt says there’s a problem. You can’t get these new generation shower heads just anywhere.
Matt: “I’m not going to lie to you. These shower heads, right now, are cutting edge. They’re not that easy to find. The good news is soon you’re going to be able to see these in your Home Depots and everywhere else. Right now, you can go online and buy these. And you can go to Greenovation.TV and find some places where you may be able to purchase these yourself.”
Lester: “Cost?”
Matt: “Cost – anywhere between $30 to a $100 for the highest-end Bricor.”
Lester: “So, are you persuaded, Jessi?”
Jessi: “$100 a year, that’s quite a bit of money.”
Lester: “That’s Jessi Ziegler and Matt Grocoff with Greenovation-dot-TV. Thanks very much, Matt.”
Matt: “Thank you, Lester. And here’s to happy showering!”
Lester: “For The Environment Report. I’m Lester Graham.”