It has been seen that most Americans spends around ten minutes every day in the shower. Most of them are oblivious of the amount of water that is being wasted in such a trivial activity. It is a fact that showerheads of older models spray out water rather fast leading to waste of half the water being sprayed. With the intention of saving water as well as energy consumption, water-saver models of showerheads have been manufactured. These are available in an array of models and style, from which you can choose the one that will match your washroom decor.
You will be surprised to learn that a traditional showerhead sprays about four gallons of water a minute; while an energy-efficient showerhead uses only two gallons per minute. If for our calculation sake we assume that a family of three takes around 1,000 showers per year at ten minutes per shower; the saving with an energy-saver showerhead will be 20,000 gallons a year. That is a straight fifty percent saving in water heating and water consumption. There are varieties of showerheads that are available in the market; and the cost will depend on the type of showerhead you choose; the cost will be between $50 and $100 per unit. You have to keep in touch with the local stores to be able to know when special discounts are being offered on energy-saving devices.
In order to promote energy-saving, many utility companies offer vouchers for free or low-cost showerheads for households. They send these vouchers along with the utility bills. You can use these vouchers to install energy-saving showerheads in your home. If such vouchers are not sent with the utility bills; you can enquire at you utility company to see if they have any offer in hand.
Apart from changing over from an old showerhead to an energy-efficient one, you can also think of switching over to energy-efficient devices in other areas of your home in order to save energy and money. One major area where you can introduce energy saving is the home water heater system where you can cut down consumption of energy to a large extent. Amongst the energy-saving water heaters you can opt for are the solar water heater(SWH) or the tankless water heaters where the water is heated only when the tap is turned on and when you turn off the tap the water heaters switches off.
If you switch over to the energy-efficient water heater, the government will help you in the form of tax credit which can offset some of your initial investment in an energy-efficient water heater.A professional plumber will be able to help you in deciding the right water heater for your home keeping in mind all other factors that need to be considered when you choose a water heater