It’s something that most of us do every day without fail.
But have you ever stopped to think how your daily shower stacks up against the rest of Britain?
In a new study, researchers from the University of Surrey have revealed the length of the average UK shower.
Their findings show that the average shower lasts just 6.7 minutes – although some Britons indulge in far longer sessions.
Professor Ian Walker, co-author of the study, joked on X (formerly Twitter): ‘We excluded any showers over one hour, but believe me, they happened.’
It’s something that most of us do every day without fail. But have you ever stopped to think how your daily shower stacks up against the rest of Britain? (stock image)
Their findings show that the average shower lasts just 6.7 minutes – although some Britons indulge in far longer sessions
In their study, the team set out to assess the amount of water used in showers, as well as the possible measures to improve efficiency.
Writing in their study, which is available as a pre-print here, the team explained: ‘Enhancing water efficiency in showers is crucial, given their high water consumption, energy use and associated carbon emissions.’
The water consumption in 290 showers of students from the University of Surrey was covertly monitored for 39 weeks using Aguardio sensors.
In total, these sensors captured 86,421 individual showers.
An analysis of the results revealed that the average shower lasted 6.7 minutes, while 50 per cent fell between 3.3 and 8.8 minutes.
However, the researchers point out that this length is likely longer amongst the general public.
‘I’m going to suggest that these Surrey students have generally shorter showers than many people,’ Professor Walker tweeted.
‘Last time we measured showers in the UK public we found an average of 10.8 minutes.’
Because the researchers knew exactly how long the water ran during each shower, as well as the flow rate of each shower, they were also able to estimate how much water was consumed each time a participant showered.
To their surprise, the researchers found that there was a negative relationship between water pressure and consumption
This is where they saw ‘the big win-win’, as Professor Walker puts it.
To their surprise, the researchers found that there was a negative relationship between water pressure and consumption.
‘More powerful showers used less water overall,’ Professor Walker explained.
He added, jokingly: ‘A LOVELY TINGLY SHOWER MIGHT BE *BETTER* FOR THE ENVIRONMENT THAN A WEAK DRIBBLE. I know, right?’
These findings can ‘tell us something important behaviourally,’ according to Professor Walker.
‘It suggests that people turn the shower off when they have achieved a desired sensation, not just when they have completed a certain set of actions,’ he said.
‘This is a potentially important new insight.’
The Aguardio sensors used to monitor the showers also have timers on them, and the researchers found that these were effective at reducing water consumption.
‘It looks like a big advantage of the timers is that they stop showers from gradually creeping longer and longer as the weeks go by,’ Professor Walker explained.
‘We wonder if people “anchor” on whatever is the length of their first shower, and stick to this when there’s a timer.’
Overall, the researchers found the average water consumption of a low pressure shower with no timer was 61 litres.
This was slashed to just 17 litres when the water was at a higher pressure and a timer was used.
‘This stuff gets big really quickly,’ Proessor Walker concluded.
‘In just this experiment, those 290 showers burned through 4.4 million litres of hot water, and about 15 tonnes of CO2e, in the 39 weeks.
‘The energy involved is mind-boggling when you start to think what it’s like at a national scale.’
