Residential Shower Use

Toilets are still the largest water use in the residential setting at 24% of water use, but showers are not far behind at 19%. It remains an area of water conservation savings opportunity.

Two factors influence the water usage of a shower: flow rate and duration. 

Flow rate. The national Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPAct 92) set a maximum flow rate of 2.5 gpm (9.5 Lpm) for showerheads manufactured, sold, and/or installed in the U.S. The US EPA WaterSense program has labeled water efficient showerheads at a lower flow rate of 2.0 gpm (7.57 Lpm). Lower flowing showerheads are specified in some green codes and use 1.5 gpm or less (5.7 Lpm). 

Duration. The duration of the shower has an equal effect on water usage. Many have hypothesized that reducing the flow rates of showerheads might cause users to take much longer showers. Scientific studies that monitored hundreds of homes across the nation have shown that flow rates have little influence on the duration of the shower. In fact, comprehensive studies by Aquacraft, Inc. show that shower duration decreased when more efficient showerheads were installed.