Hi John,
We embarked on a shower timer pilot over a year ago at WWU. We didn't use the hourglass type, but went with the waterproof digital timers instead. The timers have been fairly well received and we saw a ~22% drop in water use over a three-month period. I think we'll need to expand the program to verify the drop - the numbers seem a bit high to me. I will say that using the timers necessitates some decent up-front education on the "why" and "how." We also benefited greatly from our residence hall sustainability representatives to make contact with students in our pilot res. hall. If you want to know more, feel free to call. Post about the pilot project below.

http://westernfrontonline.net/news/13267-shower-timers-in-dorms-aim-to-c...

Seth Vidaña, M.Ed
Campus Sustainability Manager
Office of Sustainability
Western Washington University
(360) 650-2491
seth.vidana@wwu.edu
www.wwu.edu/sustain

Be careful with how you talk about shorter shower times. Remember, no good deed goes unpunished sometimes.

A well intended comment by one of our housing folks in a news story resulted in phones calls from irate parents complaining "I am not spending $40K to send my kid to your school --but you won't let them take showers."

In general, conservation efforts like timed showers cannot be positioned as a reduction in lifestyle--but as a positive sustainability initiative that will save money and the environment.

But be prepared in case...

http://www.dailycamera.com/ci_12950029?IADID=Search-www.dailycamera.com-www.dailycamera.com

Best regards,

Dave

We gave away shower timers (5-minute hourglass) in Eco-Rep promotions last year. It was an option, so we figure they went to students who really wanted to try to reduce. The anecdotal feedback was heavy towards "I can't believe how fast 5-minutes goes by" or the blunter "5-minutes is ridiculous". Most of the takers were women, which may (or may not) be related to another common comment about timing: how long it takes to apply haircare products.

So if it is possible to get timers where you can set the time, it might be wise to try 6, 7, or 8 minutes, or let them select from a range such as 5, 7, or 9 minutes. The latter would allow students to work at improvement.

Mike

Hey there John-
WWC has a Campus Greening grant program that students can apply to to improve sustainability on campus. Most of these grants are used through the Work Program (every student at WWC works 15 hours for the college effectively running every function). Students on the Plumbing Arts Crew received a grant for hourglass timers in showers. They installed them in all dorm showers. Anecdotal evidence shows that the timers raised student awareness of water consumption and its connection to energy consumption. Unfortunately, we only have 3 water meters on campus that combine building and agriculture use and make it impossible to quantify use changes due to this project. Based on the buzz the timers caused on campus, I do feel that the project was a good awareness raising effort. If you have buildings sub-metered, it would be great for all of us if you could baseline a dorm's use and see what happens after timers are installed.
Best of luck,
Stan

Is anyone able to report on issues with theft? The installs mentioned didn't seem that secure. (Eg, suction cups)

Thank you all for the feedback. A small number (~50) shower timers were purchased as part of a pilot program through the school's green fund, and once they're installed we'll evaluate water usage, student reception, awareness, etc. We are interested in theft as well, Gillian, so I can report back on that issue once installed. If the pilot is successful, this could be expanded more in the future.