Houses Install 'Green' Showers

Harvard is installing new water-saving showerheads in undergraduate dorms. But for some students, they’re only producing a shower of complaints.

Harvard Yard Operations installed new showerheads in Greenough, Hurlbut, and Pennypacker Halls at the beginning of this month. They were also installed in Dunster, Leverett, and Mather Houses this summer, and are in the process of being added to the remaining dorms.

The new showerheads, manufactured by Indianapolis, Ind.-based Delta Faucet Company, use 1.6 gallons of water per minute instead of the 2.5 gallons expended by standard showerheads, according to Paul J. Hegarty, the building manager of Leverett House.

The company touts on its Web site that its product provides a shower that “actually feels like 2.5 gallons per minute.”

Harvard Yard Operations expects that replacing the showerheads in the freshman dorms alone will save nearly 2.5 million gallons of water and $40,000 annually.

“Anything that we can do to increase energy efficiency within our buildings is being investigated and employed,” said Anthony J. Pacillo, manager of freshman dormitories.

But some students maintain the increase in efficiency is coming at the cost of lower water pressure.

“The pressure is really bad, a lot worse than it was before,” said Samantha F. Drago ’11, a resident of Pennypacker.

And Greenough resident Michael J. Ding ’11 said his entire room is dissatisfied with the new showerheads.

However, Hegarty said he has not received any complaints from Leverett residents.

“We did research and at other places that used them, they were well received,” he said.

Mather House resident Matthew R. Greenfield ’08 said the new showerheads offer better water pressure than those in his previous room.

Last year, Greenfield lived in a room with two showers, one of which was “a tinkle at best, and the other was hit or miss,” he said.

Faon M. O’Connor ’08, Mather’s former representative for the Resource Efficiency Program, said she was excited to see a renovation in the House that has a positive effect on the environment.

“People often think that changes toward sustainability sacrifice comfort or convenience,” she said. “These shower heads are a great example of how we can reduce our environmental footprint without sacrificing comfort.”

Drago is unconvinced.

“It takes longer to shower,” she said. “I feel like the extra time you spend in the shower negates the effects of the water-saving showerhead.”