Water Conservation is the Wave of the Future

In the latter half of 2007, the southeastern U.S. had to ask itself a serious question: where was the rain? While water use has long been a concern for areas like arid Central Asia, or China, whose pollution-choked waterways are well documented, the U.S. had been largely spared such woes, at least up until recently.

However, the drought that began as a small blip on the national radar brought the need for water conservation to the forefront of the public consciousness in a hurry.

Indeed, no topic is more relevant to the creation of an earth-friendly, human-healthy bath than water conservation.

Watersheds

Unless you’re a fan of the Navy shower, you’re probably averaging 15 minutes under the stream, like most Americans.
While there will always be a place for the tub in a luxurious bath, the average nine-to-fiver requires a shower. With the advent of complex shower systems the trend is, as always, the bigger the better. But while your client has you searching for that perfect brushed nickel showerhead, consider that many manufacturers now produce showerheads that are either low-flow or can be adjusted to low-flow rates. Pressurized correctly, your clients won’t know the difference until they get their water bill. And then they’ll be glad they chose you.

Remember waiting for the shower to heat up? Well, catalogue the experience for your grandkids, because today’s technology is making waiting a thing of the past, in favor of instant hot water, instantly the temperature the user desires.

“These are great products because they produce hot water on-demand and can be easily retrofitted to any existing set up,” says Maureen Pape, general manager of Santa Rosa, CA-based Sonoma Kitchen & Bath. Such systems are an alternative to traditional water heating systems that automatically make hot water, turning on and off several times per day whether or not hot water is needed. Because the on-demand systems produce water, well, on-demand, they use significantly less energy than traditional set-ups.

Thermostatic valves, too, are a good idea for similar energy-saving reasons, but perhaps the most convincing reason for baths done in homes with small children is the burn factor. In homes where water heaters can’t be limited manually to a certain temperature, it’s up to the parents to take other precautions, and it’s up to their designer to know what to suggest.

HotStop partnered recently with the nonprofit Home Safety Council to conduct a national survey which found that a majority of people didn’t have a clue as to what temperature could harm a child. So the answer is to specify smart products to take the burden off your client.

The toilet and the shower have a complicated relationship, as anyone who’s been in the shower when someone decides to wash the breakfast dishes can attest. Delta makes a product called Scald-Guard, which keeps the water temperature within three degrees of the set temperature, as another way to avoid accidental burns.

Thermostatic valves not only promote safety, but they conserve energy as well. Look for systems that can set a firm temperature, such as Kohler’s DTV series, which uses smart technology to control every aspect of the showering experience, including a steam system, multiple programmable showerheads and spa-like chromatherapy.

Some smaller companies are onto this trend, like Scottsdale, AZ-based Evolve Showerheads, which manufactures solely low-flow showerheads. Some of their firm’s products feature ShowerStart, the company’s patented technology which alerts the user to when the water is hot enough to get under, by slowing the stream to a trickle which, according to the company, can save up to 2,700 gallons of water annually.

The Alternative Side