We’re looking for a good low-flow shower head. I have found some good options and am looking for suggestions. But in my hunt, I found one of the more egregious examples of green-washing I have seen recently. I found a shower head whose feature is that it turns off automatically when the water is warm. Hmm, I thought, how could that save water?
In my search, I came across the “Evolve” shower head. This shower head doesn’t actually use less water when you’re in the shower. Instead, this company has made the alarming (although probably true) assumption that the following series of events takes place:
- Turn on water
- Wait for it to warm up
- Walk around the house doing other things
- Get in the warm shower
- Take a shower as normal
They had me up until step 3. Um, I let the water run for a few seconds until it is just beginning to get warm, step in, shower quickly, and get out. From their “vision” page:
…to save a little time we typically turn on the shower and sneak away to do something else while waiting for the water to warm-up.
We brush our teeth, use the toilet, make our beds, we even hug our kids … When we get back to the shower it’s warm and ready …
Oh, how sweet, they hug their kids! Perhaps a quick drive to the supermarket in the Hummer to pick up an egg for breakfast? I am not joking about the SUV thing, check this out, from the same page:
Using innovation and technology is better and more effective than asking for sacrifice and behavior change as means of saving water and energy. For example, don’t ask people to give up their SUVs, offer them an affordable hybrid SUV instead.
Ok, I am taking a deep breath. In. Out. Nope, I still don’t feel better. Look, I don’t disagree with the idea that technology is a great thing and if we are to get our way out of this problem (or defer it), technology will certainly be the main answer. But the notion that we can solve this problem with no behavior change presupposes that none of us citizens needs to pay that much attention to the whole matter; it will be taken care of it for us by all those great corporations out there, I guess.
Please. Let’s take a moment to agree that in order to make real change happen, even if just small changes, we need to do more than decide that we’re not going to let hot water run down the drain for some indefinite period of time whilst we hug our kids. We need to ask at least that people spend a few moments to think about ways they can change their assumptions about what sacrifice means! Changing behavior is easy; sacrifice isn’t
One definition of “sacrifice” is endure the loss of; “He gave his life for his children”; “I gave two sons to the war” I haven’t begun to make any such sacrifices in my life. I have not known anyone that has died as a result of the energy crisis or global warming. I have not suffered hardship or pain, or even discomfort as a result of my little changes. I have not been forced to move, or give up anything I hold dear. I read many definitions of this word online, and none of them implied that sacrifice involves a minor, costless change.
(One sacrifice we seem somehow willing to make is sending our young men and women off to war. That’s sacrifice. And in 20 or 30 years, I feel confident that it will be evident that our current war is one of the first volleys in a war over energy.)
We must change our behaviors indeed, by understanding that little habits we didn’t realize were actually costly, then simply stopping. We don’t need to buy a fancy new shower head that enables our continued wasteful behavior. We just need to stop wasting.
I don’t mean to pick on this particular company; in fairness they also have a low-flow 1.59 GPM shower head (although they seem almost apologetic about being green). My point is that if all we’re doing is consuming more things that enable our wasteful behaviors, like fancy shower heads, we’re not really making progress. We can change our behaviors. If we do not, we will indeed have to make real sacrifices.
Anyway, if anyone knows of a good shower head, write a comment. We want one with a “navy button” that slows or stops the flow while we soap up or my wife shaves. We have tried the spartan ones that work basically the same way as putting your thumb over the end of a garden hose; they make less water come out more forcefully. While we’ll give this option another try, I was hoping that there was something nicer that still saved water. After looking at spartan models for $4.50, and expensive ones that claim a more luxurious shower (but with lousy user reviews).
[...] with, suggesting a benefit to the engine, but this is not true. Idling just wastes gas, just like turning on the water in your shower until the bathroom is nice and steamy, which apparently some people also [...]
Pingback by Thanksgiving Driving Report: Tips for Saving Gas | Five Percent: Conserve a Little Energy — November 20, 2007 @ 10:18 pm
[...] went to Home Depot today for dimmable CFLs, a water heater blanket, a low-flow shower head, leaf bags and a few other things. After walking around aimlessly, I found the water heater [...]
Pingback by Home Depot is Dim (Why Can’t They Market CFLs Brightly) | Five Percent: Conserve a Little Energy — November 25, 2007 @ 7:10 pm
With all due respect you’re missing the point. Evolve is not the solution for people, like you, who get in the shower right away. Evolve is a way for people, who tend to do something else why the shower is getting warm, to save some water and energy. Research shows that this is more than 50% of people. Ask a normal Joe on the street what they do while waiting for the shower to get warm and you’ll start to understand. Not all people have your habits, in fact, most don’t. For these people evolve offers a great way for them to use less water and energy … and isn’t that the point. It’s not about who saves more water and energy the important point is that we all start saving water and energy. Some will save more than others, but if we can get everyone to save a little more than they do today we’re well on our way to a better planet. You’ll never get the average person to be more green if your only giving them the option that is the most green. That is abosolutely the wrong approach and the wrong attitude. Give people choices and options that are more effecient than what they do today. The net result will be more water and energy saved. That’s what you want, isn’t it?
Comment by Troy Sherman — December 9, 2007 @ 11:53 am
evolve roadrunner is 1.59gpm, that’s washing green, not greenwashing.
Comment by karsten — December 12, 2007 @ 5:14 pm
Troy — sorry for the delay in responding.
I think your comment identified perfectly the difference between our points of view. I do first want to say that I completely agree with the idea that it is the wrong approach to minimize the contributions of people who are trying; every little change people make should be accepted, acknowledged and recognized as a good thing. I often find the kinds of discussions on sites like treehugger and others can be very polarizing, and probably discourage most people. If my tone was wrong, I accept your criticism.
I don’t question that a large number of people let the water run to warm up their shower. I don’t do this, but I am not asking people to be “as good as me” — trust me, I am not “holier than thou”. So to the degree that Evolve offers a solution for people who have this habit, and thus save some water and energy, it could be a good thing.
But I am not completely sure if it is or is not.
What I reacted to in the Evolve marketing page was the idea that “using innovation and technology is better than asking for sacrifice or behavior change” (my emphasis). Technology can and will be part of the solution, but it is dangerous to think that we can continue on with our wasteful ways and solve the problem by replacing our 50 lightbulbs with 50 CFLs, or our SUVs with hybrid SUVs. A technical solution is not better, it’s just easier than making changes.
People tend to equate change with sacrifice. What I am trying to say is that changes, especially when made incrementally, can be simple and not affect the quality of your life in any bad way. On the contrary.
We do need to recognize the things we have come to assume are ok and ask again: are they really ok? If we all do a little of this, we will find many simple, effective, and cost effective ways to reduce consumption and more importantly, to change some of our unnecessary habits … like letting the water run. Or leaving on lights.
It is the “normal Joe” people out there who will play an important part of solving the problem. It is far less likely that most people will purchase the Evolve shower head than might respond to the simple idea that not running the shower for a long time is a better way to save water and energy. And the people who take a moment to think about the change seem far more likely to consider other such little changes.
So in answer to your question at the end of your comment, the goal is not simply to save some water and energy. That will not really help. What will help is for people to begin to re-think what is important to them.
I am, or was normal Joe.
My experience has been that by making small changes, two things have happened.
The first is, frankly, unimportant on the grand scale, which is that I have reduced my overall energy and resource consumption patterns pretty dramatically, perhaps using 1/3 or even 1/2 the energy I did just a few years ago. Yes, if everyone also made these changes, the global warming and energy dependence problems would be greatly reduced.
But that’s not going to happen, because everyone will not magically make the kinds of changes I made. I didn’t. It took me several years and a lot of thought and learning. It was a process — an evolution in my thinking.
Which brings me to the second, and much more important think that has happened to me.
As I have made many small changes, I have become more aware. I could always have looked at my electricity bill, heating bill, water bill, fuel charges and so on, but I didn’t. Now I do, and see that what I am doing has made a difference. More importantly, as I have learned, I have come to think about how we use resources, and have started asking myself the question “do I need to do that?” Do I need to buy a bigger house? Do I need to have the lights on in a room that no one is in? Do I need to have a bigger car? Do I need to drive to work?
I have read, listened, learned, and hopefully passed along some knowledge about why making these changes are actually important. A few small changes, made because I learned why they were important have bloomed into many changes, some of them by others whom I have encouraged to take the first step.
We do not live an ascetic life. We’re not “off the grid”. We live comfortably. But we have learned to live comfortably in a way that is far less wasteful. Not less fun, just less wasteful.
I don’t think I am that different from most people. A few years ago I consumed just like everyone else. I had a car that got below average mileage. We turned up the heat in winter and the AC in summer. The lawn sprinkler ran every day. I used a gas mower and snowblower. I took long, hot showers. I ate what I wanted. I dismissed the “earthy crunchies” as some sort of fringe group.
If I can change, perhaps others can as well.
I bought replaced my regular car with a hybrid because I had learned how significant my energy use was. As a result, I drove less, rode my bike when I could, and so on. I buy energy credits (e.g. TerraPass), but have no illusions that they actually “offset” my carbon footprint.
The trick is the awareness, in my opinion, or at least it was in my case and in those of a few people whose views I have helped change.
And getting right back to the shower head, it seems to me that someone who buys this shower head might feel like they are doing a good thing for the world. If such a purchase starts them towards a way of thinking that helps them see the need for conservation, then that’s good.
But if buying the shower head that let’s them carry on with the habit letting the water run, do they instead just say “I don’t need to change; technology will solve the problem for me”?
If 50% of people let the water run, and there were no other reasonable solution, then the Evolve might be a good idea.
But there is an almost costless solution: let the water run until it heats up, then get in. Is my house that different from everyone else’s? I get hot water up from the water heater in perhaps 15 or 30 seconds, during which time I take off my clothes. Letting the water run is just a habit, nothing more. Are we so unwilling to change that we cannot think of this simple solution first?
We talk a lot about replacing light bulbs. But I guarantee that by far the more important change I have made is turning off lights when they are not in use. There is almost no cost in this: flip a switch as you leave a room. It’s just something you have to think about a little, and over the course of time, my whole family learned. Now, my son yells at me when I forget :-)
Denial and capitulation might get you one or two grudgingly made changes. That will solve nothing. Enlightenment, awareness, and thought gets you an ever increasing scope of changes, made happily. That could solve everything. I hope.
Tom
Comment by Tom Harrison — December 12, 2007 @ 9:51 pm
karsten – have you used the evolve roadrunnner? I am still looking for a good shower head that saves water.
Tom
Comment by Tom Harrison — December 14, 2007 @ 12:26 am
Tom contact me on my email address and I’ll send you a Roadrunner. Believe it or not it’s what I use in my shower. We’re not too far off from each other and the good side here is that we all want to make a difference and help other people to make one as well. And … BTW you are very different from most in your habits and your wait time. We see an average wait of about 45 seconds. Some people have waits of 2 minutes or more – especially in their secondary bathroom.
Comment by Troy Sherman — December 17, 2007 @ 12:47 am
Troy — I’ll send you an email. I’ll be happy to give the Roadrunner a try and report back. I promise that I was not out to bash your company, and it’s for sure that a shower head that provides a nice shower at low flow rates and also shuts off when the water gets warm is a good thing.
So for the record, Evolve seems like a good product, and ShowerStart seems like a good company. I respect anyone who has an angle on how to reduce our energy and resource consumption, and certainly don’t begrudge the idea of making a buck to do it.
Tom
Comment by Tom Harrison — December 18, 2007 @ 10:35 pm
sorry, but i am ordering it today. i picked it only because i’ve seen the video and the stream looks pretty even, and not like it is spitting pellets of water. i must admit that i am a bit reluctant about spending this kind of money on a showerhead.
i am not very green, but there is something about being efficient that i like. i don’t plan on making much sacrifice, and i do plan on letting technology solve my problems for me. and i don’t mind little gimicky advances like the lady bug. i doubt i’ll use it though because i too simply get in as soon as the water starts getting warm.
Comment by karsten — January 5, 2008 @ 6:04 pm
Karsten — you will be very happy with the Evolve Roadrunner. My objection was only to Evolve’s message; the product, as it turns out, it great. Here’s my Evolve Roadrunner Showerhead review.
Tom
Comment by Tom Harrison — January 6, 2008 @ 12:56 pm
so, i read evolve’s message. i see what makes you irritated from a green perspective. you could read it as endorsing feeling green without any significant move toward real conservation, but i think forward motion is forward motion. after all, they didn’t claim they were being conservationists. and they were under no obligation to even introduce anything like the lady bug. people begin to say “screw it, why should i even care”, when they know there will always be someone looking over their shoulder waiting for a chance to say you’re a poser.
better to create data. maybe create a scale 1-10 that shows where the evolve falls comparatively to other showerheads from all corners of the industry.
Comment by karsten — January 7, 2008 @ 3:19 pm
Karsten — Of course it is a good thing that a company can produce a product that performs as well or better than others of its kind while using fewer resources.
I drive a Prius, which is one obvious example. But so are all houses made today as compared to 35 years ago: they require less energy and resources … for the same sized house. There are many different examples of similar cases, like computers, TVs, appliances, and on and on.
But we have a pretty poor record in the US of realizing the benefits of increased efficiency. In almost every case I can think of, we “trade up” for something bigger.
Lexus uses the extra power of the hybrid engine to give the car more power, not better mileage. 6,000 sq. foot houses, 55″ LCD TVs, dual CPU computers; they all use much less energy for a unit of output (miles drive, sq feet, inches of screen, computing power). But in all cases we have traded up in a way that uses more energy (even if more efficiently).
It’s really unfair of me to pick on Evolve. As you say, they have a product that is pretty much unequivocally better than many others.
But their message is, straight down the middle a message that you can feel good and not have to worry about changing habits. So, I defend my position on their message, but only as one of many, many examples of the same kind of thing from many people, and even our current national administration.
My message is that saving water is not what we need to do; it is just one outcome. What we need to do is wake up and realized that this (energy, global warming, etc.) is not a thing we can kind of ease our way out of. We need to wake up, and wake up fast.
So I am picking on Evolve only because they so directly and clearly state what I think is an example of our larger problem of denial.
It’s not Evolve, but really a much bigger issue: we have to be able to willing to take greater efficiency and not trade up.
Comment by Tom Harrison — January 7, 2008 @ 7:59 pm
sounds good. it’s weird, but i agree with their message and yours simultaneously. i don’t know how to explain- i have a prius to offset my suv, and not to replace my suv, (this supports evolves message). but (and this supports your message) at least i have the prius, cfl bulbs, 96% effecient furnace,lcd tv and soon new showerheads, and i’m finding that in many ways greener is not an economic burden that underperforms traditional products and services. by the time i get my hands on them they outperform.
i guess what i’m saying is, yes we need to modify our priorities, but i’m o.k. with those who are not ready for a total paradigm shift yet.
Comment by karsten — January 8, 2008 @ 10:30 am
I don’t go away and leave the shower to warm up, I just stand there, feeling it with my toes til it gets warm, then get in! They assume we’re making breakfast while showering, what a waste!
Comment by Shower screen UK — January 14, 2008 @ 7:46 am
karsten,
Any report on your trial? I’m interested to hear your review!
Comment by Matthew — April 9, 2008 @ 1:55 pm
Matthew — not sure if Karsten will get this email. Do check my RoadRunner reviews and also the site GreenGear which is listed on the “blogroll” on the right, who has a review as well. Short answer: we both liked it.
Tom
Comment by Tom Harrison — April 9, 2008 @ 2:51 pm
Tom,
Thanks for the fast reply. I’ll be giving this a try. Every little bit counts and I’m finally counting. Energy eff. light bulbs, check. Low-flo toilets, check. Low-flo shower, about to be check. What’s next?
Comment by Matthew — April 9, 2008 @ 5:04 pm
If you jump in the shower immediately, you need a Hot Water Lobster Instant Hot Water Valve! It will give you the convenience of instant hot water and eliminate the waste of water down the drain while waiting for hot water! It’s a recirculation system that uses your existing plumbing! The temperature adjustable recirculation valve is easily installed in under 10 minutes. Put it under the sink farthest form your water heater and you’ll have instant hot water throughout your entire home.
It’s pump free so it creates no noise. regular recirculation pumps are noisy and don’t last long! The Hot Water Lobster is made in the U.S.A. and has a 10-year warranty! I installed it myself in 10 minutes! It is available at the website for only $179.95! You’ll save that much in no time! Here’s the site:
http://www.hotwaterlobster.com/
Comment by BRADFORD — April 30, 2008 @ 8:09 pm
I have to agree with the writer of the 3rd comment. There are people out there that won’t lift one little finger to improve the environment. These are the same people that walk by a piece of trash in the city park because it’s some ground keepers responsibility (even if there’s a trash can 2 steps away.)
The key here is although there will always be people that will go the extra mile to make things better for a cause they believe in, there’s probably a lot more that haven’t given it a second thought.
The problem I’ve seen so many times in my career is that people with a good idea can’t imagine why everyone else just doesn’t get it when it’s so dang obvious. I would argue that is the case here. You see the merit in simply standing there waiting for your shower to warm up (I’m cheap so I do the same thing), but I can tell you my 3 daughters aren’t of the same mindset.
Finding simple things like the Evolve certainly can’t hurt the environment, and while it would be better if everyone was a judicious with their carbon footprint as you probably are, every little bit helps. It’s kind of like the arguement of just taking a 20 minute walk for exercise. While you won’t get a set of 6pack abs, it’s better than veggin on the couch.
That’s why I created my website http://www.JceGreenSolutions.com as I’ve put products on there that are environmentally sound but have a financial upside to the users. So maybe I won’t make them Greenies, but if they can save a buck they just might make a few changes.
Comment by Chris — May 8, 2008 @ 8:55 am
Chris –
The writer of the 3rd comment does happen to work for Evolve :-). Having said that, I sort of agree that anything that helps people gain any greater awareness of how easy it is to do green things (and usually cost-effective, etc.) is a good thing. It’s certainly not bad, for sure.
I wish you good luck in your endeavor.
Tom
Comment by Tom Harrison — May 8, 2008 @ 9:23 pm
Speaking as a project manager for a high end remodeling company, I am thrilled to find an easy to install common sense product that I can introduce to clients without having to get into a discussion about whether Al Gore is a demon or a saint. In reading through these many comments, I think it is important to realize that not everyone is going to be motivated in the same way. After wondering for a couple of decades what a gas tax that would make fuel more expensive (+$4.00) would do for miles driven (its reduced it for the first time in a generation- New Yorker 8/11/08), lets not forget that some people are practically immune from financial incentives. But something that speaks to efficiency usually gets attention better than moralizing. I am old enough, my eco-sense shaped by the ’73 gas crisis, to remember that “we” once thought that by showing a good example- recycling, shorter showers, etc. we could convince the world to come along and be a better place. I’m all for individual effort. But I’m wary of thinking that the things that motivate me- a love of a planet, is going to motivate the average consumer. Let’s cut the marketing people at Evolve some slack and realize that everyone of their devices installed will be a drops in the bucket of savings.
Comment by John — August 8, 2008 @ 2:29 am
John –
Yeah, moralizing (and spouting “truths”) doesn’t really accomplish anything.
I atoned for my sins in a subsequent post even before the nice guys at Evolve sent me a shower head to try. We liked it pretty well, and it’s a great product — no ifs, ands, or buts.
I recently bared my soul and posted several items relating to global warming. My hope, which seems to have been realized, was that I learned, through the response of people who disagree with what I believe to be true can help me understand how, and perhaps more importantly why our views differ.
I too grew up and had views shaped by the 73 gas crisis, the Clean Air Act, and they years that followed. I wonder if we’ll be lucky enough to have the same outcome as in 73, where, after some rather significant efforts, things seemed to be getting better.
Anyway, you’re right about what motivates people. Abstract things don’t motivate people; real things like $4.00/gallon gas do. We need more of that, I guess.
Comment by Tom Harrison — August 8, 2008 @ 8:44 pm
I have owned the RoadRunner for ~ 6 months. It works great. I save hot water and water volume. It looks sharp and provides very adequate rinsing. I’ll buy a second. I am not easily convinced and I have been in the water purfication business for 20 years so I have an eye towards conservation and use. Solid product and delivers on savings.
Comment by Jerry Gatch — September 12, 2008 @ 9:55 pm
Dude, GREAT blog. This whole site that you have set up is top-notch. Well done. I stumbled across it .
I’m really looking forward to reading all of your archives. Terrific job, keep it up!
Comment by Laban Paul — July 28, 2009 @ 2:05 am
Thanks!
Comment by Tom Harrison — July 28, 2009 @ 7:09 am