How to measure how much water flows from
your shower every minute.
How to measure how much water flows from
your shower every minute. It may come as
some surprise to find just how much water is
flowing from your showerhead every minute.
The higher the flow rate, the more water and
power you are using. If the flow rate in
litres per minute (LPM) is above 8-9 LPM,
you are washing money down the drain. And
you are causing unnecessary harm to the
environment and all our children's future.
So how do you measure your shower flow rate?
You will need
One standard household bucket
One measuring jug with litre
gradations
A timer or watch with a second hand
Turn on the hot water fully, and then adjust the
cold tap to ensure the shower is at your
preferred temperature.
Catch the water in the bucket for exactly 20
seconds. Ensure you catch all the water – don’t
allow water to spray wide of the bucket. Remove
it from the stream as soon as 20 seconds is up.
Pour the contents of the bucket into the
measuring jug. Then multiply the total amount of
water you collected by 3 and this will give you
the flowrate of your shower in litres per
minute.
You may find that you have very low pressure in
your home, and that your current shower flow
rate is around 10 LPM. If this is the case, you
may not benefit from fitting a water and energy
saving showerhead. If the hot water flows much
less strongly than the cold, then the water
system in your home may not be balanced. Again,
in this case, you possibly may not benefit from
a water-saving showerhead. It may be worth
having your plumber run a quick check on this,
but only do so if the flow rate is over 12 LPM
as your annual water and power savings will
easily justify his/her fee.
Click here to
find out how to do a
"rule of thumb" test to
estimate your household water pressure
