A shower of options

Anyone looking to upgrade a bathroom in a big way might want to start small -- with the shower head.

The shower is increasingly becoming an individualized experience, with water- and wallet-saving features, fixtures that double as hand showers and electronic systems designed with watery nirvana in mind.

Homeowners can customize their showers and make the process of freshening up their bathrooms as complex or as inexpensive as they'd like.

Averie Chatman, showroom manager at Ferguson plumbing supply in Lenexa, Kan., said the relative ease of switching out a fixture -- and the significant difference it can make -- "is a good idea for customers, especially if they're not looking to rip down their whole shower."

The growing focus on "green" shower heads connects many new fixtures. Water-saving features come in various models, from a basic Delta H2Okinetic head or a low-level Waterpik EcoFlow shower head for $20 to $30, to high-end electronic systems from Kohler or Moen that sell in the hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

The EPA now offers Water Sense ratings for bathroom fixtures (think of the Energy Star ratings that are ubiquitous on major appliances), designed to tell consumers how to best conserve water and money when they move to new bathroom hardware. (More info at www.epa.gov/WaterSense.)

The shower heads save water by cutting the flow rate from the industry-standard 2.5 gallons per minute to 1.6 gallons per minute. Other design improvements push the water out with greater force, so customers arguably can't notice much difference. The eco-friendly models are billed as cutting shower water use by about 40 percent.

American Standard, for one, has added a sliding button -- dubbed the Monoglide -- to its hand showers to make it easier for users to shift between the shower head's multiple functions.

Jo Licausi, showroom sales associate at Dorfman Plumbing Supply in Kansas City, said increasingly popular choices are higher-end two-in-one units that combine a fixed head and handheld, such as the Delta In2ition, which lists for about $100, or the similarly priced Kohler Flipside.

"A hand shower is great to have, but some people don't want that extra piece of hardware," Licausi said. "With models like these, you can have both products without changing your valving."

For those seeking customization on a bigger budget, there's a growing market of electronic showers to consider.

Starting at prices in the thousands and operating off of thermostatic valves, these top-of-the-line options -- such as Kohler's DTV line or Moen's ioDigital -- offer the ultimate in shower customization. They're not shower heads. Rather, they offer total control, and sometimes remote control, over water-flow rate and temperature. The DTV line also includes controllable music and light shows.