Tag: showerhead

January 28, 2009

Low-down on Low-flow Showerheads

GreenHomeNYC founder Aaron Yowell requested tips on low-flow showerheads and we thought we’d share the responses. A showerhead’s water flow is measured in gallons per minute (gpm). A standard showerhead is 5 – 8 gpm, which means a 5 minute shower uses 40 gallons of water. According to NYC’s Department of Environmental Protection, an efficient gpm is at or below 2.5 across various water pressures. Although US EPA’s WaterSense program (a label akin to Energy Star) hasn’t estblished a standard for showerheads, some green standards (including LEED) require 2 gpm to be considered “low-flow”, and Enterprise Green Communities (a green standard for affordable housing) encourages showerheads of 1.7 gpm. (more…)