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?
Pressurised mains-fed shower/bath
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.
An ordinary shower or bath fed with water under pressure, from the mains or from a pump. The fixture itself uses no power; the pressure comes from upstream. On mains water it keeps working in a power cut; on a pump it stops with the pump.
Build it
This solution is not buildable as a DIY project.
Cost
Medium
Upkeep
Occasional
Skill to build
Intermediate
Lifespan
Fixture: 20-30 years; depends on the pressurised pump distribution system's own lifespan
Levels are relative to the other options for this need, not absolute. Fewer dots is lighter.
Pressurised mains-fed shower/bath (This page) 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.
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.
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.
Misting 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: Daily · Works without the grid: Yes Choose it if you want the least water and energy of any shower, for little money.
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.