Low-flow shower heads and faucets save money?

The “rule of threes” highlights the basic necessities of life: The typical human can survive 3 minutes with no air, 3 hours in a harsh environment with no shelter, 3 days with no water, and 3 weeks without food.  Not pleasant to think about, but it does make you consider how you fulfill these needs on a daily basis.  And while Alaskans are fortunate to have access to an abundance of water – the Alaska Department of Fish and Game reports that Alaska contains more than 40% of the nation’s surface water resources in its thousands of rivers and millions of lakes – getting access to water that is clean every day can be no small task.  In Fairbanks, many people pay for water delivery, or haul water themselves, no easy chore in below freezing temperatures. Additionally, many people heat water for laundry, shower heads and dishes, which adds to household energy costs.

In order to save both water and energy, many people turn to low-flow shower heads and faucets in their homes. Low-flow devices reduce the water coming from a faucet but add pressure to the remaining circulation, so people don’t notice the overall loss in water circulation. These devices reduce costs in two ways.  First, they reduce water usage.  If you pay for city water, water delivery, or for gas to haul your own water, using less water means saving money.  Secondly, the majority of homes have a hot water heater to provide hot water for showers, dishes, and laundry.  A low-flow device saves you money because you heat less water overall, which translates into lower energy bills.

If you aren’t sure whether you already have a low-flow device, you can always measure the gallons per minute (gpm) that a faucet or shower heads delivers. A lower gpm rating means the faucet uses less water.  The easiest way to do this is with a stopwatch and a gallon-sized jug (for a faucet) or bucket (for a shower head).  Turn the faucet on all the way, then use the stopwatch to determine how many seconds it takes to fill up the quart jug or bucket. Then divide 60 seconds by that time to get the gallons per minute the faucet produces. For example, if your shower heads filled up a quart bucket in 18 seconds then it has a circulation rate of 3.33 gpm (60 ÷18 gpm).

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