While you lather up, warm water runs away without you using it. With a pause button you stop the spray for a moment. The Besjaar Shower Head with Filter has such a button. Here is how it works and what it gets you.
The short answer
Press the pause button and the spray stops. Press again and the water comes back, with the tap still in the same position. Every minute you pause per shower saves roughly €15 per person per year. That is an estimate based on figures from Milieu Centraal, the Dutch consumer information centre.
How the pause button works
- Set the temperature and shower as usual.
- Press the pause button when you start lathering up or massaging in shampoo. The spray stops.
- Press again: the water flows again. You do not need to readjust the tap.
What do you save?
According to Milieu Centraal, the average Dutch person showers 7.4 minutes a day and uses about 55 litres of warm water. That is just over 7 litres per minute. Showering shorter, from 7.4 to 5 minutes, saves about €36 per person per year according to Milieu Centraal. That is roughly €15 per minute.
Pausing works the same as showering shorter: no warm water flows during that time. Per person, it looks like this:
| Pause per shower | Warm water per year | Saving per year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 minute | about 2,700 litres | about €15 |
| 2 minutes | about 5,400 litres | about €30 |
| 3 minutes | about 8,100 litres | about €45 |
More people showering at home? Add it up per person. The real saving depends on your energy tariff, your shower head and how your water is heated. Milieu Centraal uses a gas price of €1.37 per m³.
When do you pause?
- While lathering up.
- While massaging in shampoo.
- While letting conditioner or a hair mask soak in.
- While shaving your legs.
Good to know
- Combi boiler. With some combi boilers, the water can briefly be colder or warmer after a pause, because the boiler restarts. After a pause, point the spray away from you for a few seconds first.
- Less water through the filter. Water you do not use does not go through the filter either. What a filter costs per year is explained in what does a shower filter cost per year?
Which Besjaar shower heads have a pause button?
The pause button is on the Besjaar Shower Head with Filter and on the complete set, the Besjaar Shower Head with Hose and Filter. Both also have 10 settings and an 8-stage filter. The Luxury Hand Shower and the Rain Shower with Hose have no pause button. More saving tips in water-saving shower head: how much do you really save?
Frequently asked questions
How much do you save with a pause button?
That depends on how long you pause. Based on figures from Milieu Centraal, every minute of pause per shower saves about €15 per person per year.
Does the temperature stay the same after a pause?
The tap stays in the same position. With some combi boilers, the water can briefly be colder or warmer after a pause. Point the spray away from you for a moment first.
Does every Besjaar shower head have a pause button?
No. Only the shower heads with a filter and 10 settings have a pause button.
View the Besjaar Shower Head with Filter or discover all Besjaar shower heads.
Besjaar makes shower heads and filters for Dutch bathrooms, from Assen. Better water, every day.