Lowtech Graph lists low-tech options for every need of a home. Here you can compare them, find tutorials to build them, and link them together into a circular system. Why low-tech?
Misting shower
Passive
One of 4 ways to meet this need. Cost, carbon, footprint and rankings are relative to other solutions for the same need, not absolute.
What your site needs
A pressurised feed, because a mist needs pressure that a gravity tank will not give. A drain and a sloped floor or tray. Nothing structural is touched, so it goes into an existing enclosure
A shower that wets the body with a fine mist instead of a stream, fed by a small tank of very hot water. A mist covers the skin with a fraction of the water, so a whole shower takes 2 to 5 litres instead of 60 to 80, and far less energy. It takes longer, and ends cold when the tank runs out.
Levels are relative to the other options for this need, not absolute. Fewer dots is lighter.
Misting shower (This page) Can I use it? Works in a flat · No rebuilding needed What does it cost me? Upfront cost: Low · Skill to build: Basic · Upkeep: Light · Change to daily life: Daily · Works without the grid: Yes Choose it if you want the least water and energy of any shower, for little money.
Gravity-fed shower Can I use it? Works in a flat · No rebuilding needed What does it cost me? Upfront cost: Low · Skill to build: Basic · Upkeep: Light · Change to daily life: Occasional · Works without the grid: Yes Choose it if you want a shower fed from your own tank that works with no pump.
Pressurised mains-fed shower/bath Can I use it? Works in a flat · No rebuilding needed What does it cost me? Upfront cost: Medium · Skill to build: Intermediate · Upkeep: Light · Change to daily life: None · Works without the grid: Yes Choose it if you want the ordinary shower or bath, at full pressure.
Closed-loop recirculating shower Can I use it? Works in a flat · No rebuilding needed What does it cost me? Upfront cost: High · Skill to build: Specialist · Upkeep: Heavy · Change to daily life: None · Works without the grid: No Choose it if you want to cut each shower’s water and heat sharply without changing how you shower.
We don’t list sizing or quantities, as the yield of each technique depends on the quality of its build. The catalogue compares options but doesn’t dimension them. Regulatory notes are indicative, with a French example, and need to be confirmed locally.