Water Saving Shower Heads Compared

Since moving to my latest flat a couple of months ago I have been able to fully test the 2 eco shower heads that I have been given (my old flat had an electric shower which means it was already a lower flow rate so I couldn’t notice any discernable difference against a standard shower head).

During my time blogging here on Green Steve I have been given a number of products to test out and review and I am always honest about what I find and it will be no different this time.

The Contenders

1. The first shower head being tested is a rather unusual looking thing by a company called Ecocamel. This is a company that specialise in water-saving shower heads and their ‘Orbit’ design certainly looks as though it would do that what with there being a big hole in the middle.

Thanks to its specially positioned nozzles, however, this head gives a perfectly full and pleasant shower experience – even if I’m not convinced about their claims that it makes “water droplets burst easily onto the skin and soak you more effectively without splashing or wasting water”.

This is a pretty hard thing to prove in a home test so maybe there is some science behind it – who knows?

This funky looking shower head costs quite a bit with a price tag of £69.95 which makes it more than 3 times the price of the alternatives.

2. My second water-reducing shower head was kindly given to me by the folks at Gabi H20 quite a while ago and I did use it for several months before being given the Orbit.

With a more traditional look, the hose attachment is where all the magic happens and thanks to a ‘non-twist’ connection, you can turn the shower head in any direction without twisting or tangling the hose although I can’t say this is ever a problem for me.

You can get one of these shower heads for only £19.99 (on sale at time of writing – normally £29.99).

3. The final shower head is an adjustable chrome thing that was already in the flat when I moved in. After a bit of research online, I have found out that it is part of the Aqualisa Harmony range.

This shower head has 4 settings – I tested its outer spray (normal) action and its eco mode.

One of these chrome heads will set you back around £45.

The Results

I took a bucket from under my sink that says it has a 13 litre capacity. I tested each shower head with the tap on full (I actually have the tap on half way when I shower) and filled the bucket to a horizontal line just below the top. The times to reach this level are shown below in ascending order:

• Aqualisa Harmony (normal mode) – 52 seconds
• Aqualisa Harmony (eco mode) – 1 minute 19 seconds
• Ecocamel Orbit – 1 minute 32 seconds
• Gabi H20 – 1 minute 36 seconds

Assuming I filled the bucket up to 12 litres out of its 13 litre capacity, this puts the flow rates at:

• Aqualisa Harmony (normal mode) – 13.85 litres per minute
• Aqualisa Harmony (eco mode) – 9.11 litres per minute
• Ecocamel Orbit – 7.83 litres per minute
• Gabi H20 – 7.50 litres per minute

So changing from worst offender to best in class would result in a 46% saving in water used. Assuming 1 shower per day of 5 minutes, a saving of 11,589 litres could be made per person per year.

According to the figures given by Gabi H20, a typical family of 4 could save £187 a year on their water and energy bills – far more than the cost of the shower head. With my hot water being heated by economy 7 electricity, the ‘per person’ savings are probably even higher.

Assuming that £150 of the above savings figure represents the energy, and based on the UK fuel mix, the carbon emission savings could be anything up to 587kg per household per year if the water was being heated by typical grid electricity. The figure would be quite a lot less for gas heated water.

I’m going to stick with the Ecocamel Orbit shower head as I do like the way it looks and it has pretty much the same efficiency as the Gabi H20 one.

Basically then, it makes both environmental and monetary sense to buy yourself a water saving shower head.

Steve (156 Posts)

I am chief writer and editor on Green Steve. Blogging since 2011, I like to delve into a wide number of topics to help people reduce their carbon footprint. You should follow me on Twitter here. And add me to your Google+ circles here.

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