Power showers use twice as much energy and water as baths, despite the commonly-held perception that showers are better for the environment, new research has found.
Power showers use booster pumps to increase the water flow
The average power shower costs families about £918 a year in water and electricity, according to a study by Unilever UK, the maker of Domestos and Dove products. This is nearly twice as much energy and water as a bath uses. The cost of running a power shower is also more than double the cost of a normal shower, which sets a family back an average of £416 a year in water and electricity, the research found.
Power showers use booster pumps to increase the water flow and are therefore more electricity-intensive than normal showers.
Unilever monitored 2,600 showers taken by 100 families over 10 days. The company used sensors to detect water use. The £918 figure is based on an average water flow of 17 litres per minute and typical annual charges for water, sewage and energy.
The company found that an eight-minute non-power shower with an average water flow rate used about 62 litres of hot water per shower and cost about 30p.
The average four-person family would use 90,000 litres per year, at a collective cost for electricity and water of £416.
Dr Hilde Hendrickx, a behavioural psychologist at Unilever, said that the study would help it “understand how we can change people’s behaviour to reduce the amount of energy and water they use during showering”.
The survey unearthed some strange habits.
It found that 12-year-old boys spent longest in the shower, averaging 9 minutes and 41 seconds. Girls were in and out in just 6 minutes and 34 seconds until they hit their teens, when this rose to 9 minutes and 21 seconds.
The average teenage girls used water worth £123 over a year, Unilever said. Although women shower in 7 minutes 39 seconds on average during the week, on Saturdays they took 8 minutes 55 seconds. Men spent 8 minutes 5 seconds showering during the week.
The survey found that women were effective multi-taskers when they were in the shower.
Women were more likely than men to be shaving their legs and cleaning their teeth while showering.
The survey unearthed some strange habits.
It found that 12-year-old boys spent longest in the shower, averaging 9 minutes and 41 seconds. Girls were in and out in just 6 minutes and 34 seconds until they hit their teens, when this rose to 9 minutes and 21 seconds.
The average teenage girls used water worth £123 over a year, Unilever said. Although women shower in 7 minutes 39 seconds on average during the week, on Saturdays they took 8 minutes 55 seconds. Men spent 8 minutes 5 seconds showering during the week.
The survey found that women were effective multi-taskers when they were in the shower.
Women were more likely than men to be shaving their legs and cleaning their teeth while showering.
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