New Delta Showerhead Advances State of the Art

Delta has achieved this performance by partnering with Bowles Fluidics Corporation. The technology that makes this performance possible comes from the automotive industry, where it was developed for windshield sprayers, according to Paul Patton, senior product development manager at Delta. An oscillation process controls the water droplets. “We tell the water how big the droplet should be and how fast it should come out,” said Patton. The water leaves the showerhead through four openings, and the droplets are fairly large, resulting in good heat retention and excellent body wetting.

By comparison, most low-flow showerheads either create very small droplets or aerate the water. In the former case, according to Patton, the water cools off quickly after leaving the showerhead; in the latter case, some cooling happens, and the showerhead is noisier. The H2Okinetics technology retains the same amount of heat 12 inches (300 mm) farther into the shower than most low-flow showerheads, according to Patton. This may result in moderate energy savings—beyond the energy savings achieved by using less water—by enabling users to shower at a cooler water mix.