Development and Evaluation of New Testing Protocols for Measuring the Performance of Showerheads in the United States and Canada

摘要

Consumer satisfaction survey and laboratory test results are provided for 43 efficient and 30 standard showerheads to indicate the effectiveness of new test specifications developed by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and Canadian Standards Association (CSA) Joint Harmonization Task Force (JHTF) for flow rate, force, and coverage over a range of flowing pressures from 20 to 80 pounds per square inch gauge (psig). The current showerhead standard is 2.5 gallons per minute (gpm) at 80 psig flowing pressure (A112.18.1/CSA-B125.1- 1992/2005). The United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) WaterSense~? and their consultant, Eastern Research Group (ERG), collaborated with ASME/CSA JHTF on new showerhead test protocols to develop a WaterSense~? showerhead specification of 2 gpm at 80 psig flowing pressure. Approximately 64 to 77 percent of tested showerheads do not meet the WaterSense~? specification for flow rate, force, or coverage. Based on these findings, this study recommends that California not adopt a flow rate standard lower than 2.5 gallons per minute at 80 psig flowing pressure as specified in the California Green Building standards. Instead, the study supports the voluntary WaterSense~? showerhead specification of 2.0 gpm at 80 psig to give manufacturers time to design more efficient showerheads. Showering in the US consumes 15 to 20% of total residential indoor water use or 1.4 trillion gallons per year. Annual savings from new showerhead standards and labels are estimated at 64,605 million gallons of water, 188 million therms, and 3,066 GWh, and $600 million.