Fight the Flow Phase II: Residence Halls and University Village
Project Leads: Emily Wong, Omsri Bharat, Mila Moran
TGIF Mini-Grant: $2,000
Sponsor: Nature Village, PowerSave Campus
Project Theme: Water Conservation & Efficiency
2012 Mini-Grant Application Submission
Project Description: This project is meant to reduce water consumption by allowing families/students to adjust the flow settings of their shower heads so that the shower flow is not always at full capacity. In addition, the project serves to implement behavior changes in people on saving water. UZLow showerheads are designed with a lever to give the user the option to use a low flow shower stream. By allowing for a low flow option but also having the option to use full flow, the shower heads accommodate everyone’s needs.
About the UZLOW valve: When utilized, the UZLOW valve reduces water and natural gas (used to heat water) consumption by reducing hot water flow when shampooing, shaving, or soaping up. In this low position, the valve allows just enough water to flow, so water stays at the original temperature. There is no burst of cold water when switching back to regular flow,
making this a popular option for residents. UZLOW LLC is a small, locally owned company that has helped immensely in the development and implementation of this project. Philip Bautch (owner of UZLOW) accommodated this grant’s large orders and has subsequently received large requests from other campuses pursuing similar retrofits.
Project Goals: This project will supply low flow, UZLow shower heads to residence halls as well as to family housing in University Village. Of the 974 families living in University Village, 50 will be participating in a pilot project in introducing these shower heads. This will be a continuation of the TGIF Fight the Flow project from 2011, which implemented this project successfully in residence halls (Unit 1), and this new grant will cover shower head and marketing costs for both Unit 2 and University Village. The team will assess approximately how long showers are used through pre-implementation surveys, and will assess behavior changes and the adoption rate of the low-flow shower heads through post-implementation surveys.
The goal is to obtain measurable, attainable savings for water and CO2, using similar methods conducted in the first Fight the Flow grant.