What is gpm shower head

What is gpm shower head

We’ve all experienced good showers and bad showers. Remember the fancy hotel with the amazing dancing water and pulsating streams? File that under fantastic shower! How about that weekend trip to your in-laws with their wimpy water pressure and clogged sprays shooting in random directions? File that under never again. If you’ve savored a fantastic shower during your travels, why not bring that experience into your home so you can enjoy it every day? The engineers at Delta Faucet have created innovations to ensure that your showering experience is one to remember.

Installing a new shower head is one of the easiest and cost-effective updates you can make to your bathroom. If your shower head hasn’t been updated in a while, the reduced flow rate of modern shower heads might come as a surprise. Although federally mandated water saving measures have reduced the amount of water flowing per minute, you’ll be thrilled with recent innovations that allow you to personalize your showering experience (hello, massage setting!). In the past few years, shower head technology has undergone many improvements, including the introduction of Brilliance Finishes, Touch-Clean Spray Holes and Temp2O Technology. Understanding the mandated regulations on contemporary shower heads will help provide you the information you need to select the right model for your home.

Flow Rate Restrictions

Since 1994, federal regulations have limited shower head manufacturers to a maximum flow rate of 2.5 gallons per minute (gpm). California has enacted its own legislation limiting the flow rate to 2.0, which will be reduced even further, to 1.8 gpm, in July 2018. Water flow regulations save billions of gallons of water each year while the latest technologies help preserve or even enhance your shower experience. There’s no need to suffer a substandard showering experience just because of regulations.

The engineers at Delta Faucet believe that environmentally friendly design shouldn’t compromise optimal performance. Before the restrictions, shower heads typically used 5.5 gpm. Restricting the flow to 2.5 gpm led to a new generation of water-saving shower heads. The change in flow rate is particularly noticeable if you go from a shower head produced before 1994 to a modern model. With consumer satisfaction in mind and knowing how important a good showering experience is to customers, the Delta Faucet engineers got to work.

Opportunity for Innovation

The new shower flow rates presented a challenge: how to create the best showering experience possible despite the restrictions and limitations of individual homes. What is commonly referred to as water pressure is determined by an individual home’s water system, pipes, location and other elements. The goal became to create shower heads that provide the best shower experience possible, regardless of external factors.

Concurrently, shower heads had begun transitioning from basic functionality to personalized performance. New shower heads were created with multiple spray settings and Touch-Clean rubber spray holes that allow for cleaning with the touch of a finger. Beautiful design and modern styles that coordinate with other bathroom hardware were also developed to ensure that aesthetics match functionality.

In2ition and H2Okinetic Technology

A vital element to any great shower is warmth, so the H2Okinetic spray option was created to sculpt water into a unique wave pattern that gives you three times the coverage of a standard shower head*. This technology was incorporated into other innovations, including the Delta In2ition Two-in-One Shower, which features a combination shower head and hand shower. You can choose to have water streaming from the shower head or handheld sprayer only, or both at once. This innovation allows you to direct the flow of water and manually control where it goes. The combination of these technologies ensures that you don’t have to give up a warm shower to experience the flexibility of a hand shower.

The flow of water meets the requirements of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) while an internal system controls the speed, movement and droplet size of the water. This means that every drop of warm, moving water that hits your body is crafted to give you the best showering experience possible. The high-velocity wave pattern creates the feeling of a warmer, more drenching shower without using more water. Many of the In2ition H2Okinetic shower heads qualify for WaterSense labeling because they save a considerable amount of water.

Good Sense with WaterSense

Showering accounts for nearly 17 percent of residential indoor water use, or about 40 gallons per day for the average family, according to the EPA. That means an estimated 1.2 trillion gallons of water are used for showering annually in the United States. Standard shower heads use 2.5 gpm, but to earn the WaterSense label, a product must use no more than 2 gpm and still meet strict performance requirements. The EPA estimates that the average family could save 2,900 gallons of water per year by installing a WaterSense-labeled shower head. To estimate how much water you’ll save with a WaterSense-labeled product, try this calculator. 

Ready for a multisetting, raincan or simply more modern shower head? Many stylish options and finishes are available. If you’re looking for excellent coverage and warmth, consider a Delta In2ition H2Okinetic shower head. If you like the design of a modern raincan shower head but also want the option of a traditional shower head spray, consider a HydroRain 2-in-1 Shower Head. No matter what style you choose, we want you to have an optimal showering experience. If you have questions or concerns about the flow rate of your shower head, reach out to our customer service team to help guide you toward a choice that will deliver a showering experience you’ll love every day. You can reach us online or by calling the Delta Help Line at 1-800-345-DELTA (3358).

*Coverage measured in accordance with EPA WaterSense Specification for shower heads, March 4, 2010.

What does GPM mean and why is it important to your daily shower? Believe it or not, it’s the law! Your shower head is covered by federal and possibly local regulations.

What is GPM?

GPM means Gallons Per Minute. Also known as “flow rate”, GPM is a measure of how many gallons of water flow out of your shower head each minute.

Since 1992, a maximum of 2.5 GPM is the federally mandated flow rate for new shower heads. This means no more than 2.5 gallons of water should flow out each minute.

The GPM flow rate for shower heads has decreased over time. If your current shower head was made in the 1980’s or 1990’s, its flow rate could be 3.5 GPM or more!

What is gpm shower head

Why is shower head GPM or flow rate important?

Federal, state, and local governments regulate shower head GPM flow rates, because the potential for water and energy savings are significant. A standard 2.5 GPM shower headuses 2.5 gallons of water each minute. That’s 25 gallons for a 10-minute shower.

VS. A low-flow 2.0 GPM shower headuses 2.0 gallons of water each minute. That’s only 20 gallons for a 10-minute shower.

If everyone in the U.S. installed 2.0 GPM shower heads, the EPA estimates annual savings of:

  • 260 billion gallons of water
  • $2.2 billion in water utility bills
  • $2.6 billion in energy costs for heating water

That’s a lot of billions!

How do local governments regulate shower heads?

To conserve resources and save money, some state and local governments mandate even lower GPM flow rates than the federal regulation.

What is gpm shower head
  • New York City adopted a 2.0 GPM standard in 2010
  • California and Colorado adopted a 2.0 GPM standard in 2016
  • California will move to a 1.8 GPM standard in July 2018

And many communities offer incentives and rebates to residents who voluntarily install low-flow shower heads.

Source: https://www.waterpik.com/shower-head/blog/shower-head-gpm/

December 27, 2017

The Spruce / Michelle Becker

  1. Set the timer to 10 seconds. Turn on the cold water full-blast. Start the timer and simultaneously place the container under the water stream or spray, making sure all of the water is collected. Collect the water for exactly 10 seconds, then shut off the fixture.

    The Spruce / Michelle Becker

  2. Measure the quantity of water in the container, using the measuring cup. You might want to note the cupfuls on a piece of paper, so you don't lose track. Convert the measurement to gallons. (There are 16 cups, or 4 quarts, in a gallon.) The measurement can be expressed as a simple fraction. For example, 8 cups equal 8/16, or 1/2 gallon.

    The Spruce / Michelle Becker

  3. Multiply the measured quantity of water by 6 to calculate the flow rate in gallons per minute (GPM). In our example, 1/2 gallon was collected in 10 seconds. That number multiplied by 6 (to determine one minute) equals 3 gallons. Therefore, the flow rate is 3 GPM.

    The Spruce / Michelle Becker

In most cases, the reason for changing the flow rate on a faucet or shower is to reduce water usage.

As a general guideline, the faucet flow rate in the bathroom should be 1.5 GPM or less. This is the maximum flow rate established by the EPA's WaterSense program, and generally speaking, that's more than enough water for a bathroom faucet. If you're concerned about water use, you can save more by installing a ​low-flow aerator that restricts the flow to 1.0 GPM or even less, and it's unlikely you'll notice the difference.

Kitchen faucets typically have a maximum flow rate of 2.2 GPM. It might make sense to lower this to 1.5 GPM by using a low-flow aerator, but the tradeoff is that it will take longer to fill pots of water. If you rinse a lot of dishes with the faucet on full blast however, it might make sense to reduce your kitchen faucet's flow rate to save water.

The maximum flow rate for showerheads is 2.5 GPM. If your measured flow rate is any higher, replace the showerhead. The new unit will quickly pay for itself in water savings and, more significantly, in reduced water heating costs. For a typical user, the shower flow consists of about 70% hot water.