This bill, the SHOWER Act, redefines "showerhead" for energy efficiency standards by excluding safety shower units and mandates the Secretary of Energy to update corresponding regulations within 180 days.
Russell Fry
Representative
SC-7
The SHOWER Act revises the federal definition of a "showerhead" for energy efficiency standards by aligning it with the ASME A112.18.1-2024 standard. This change specifically excludes "safety shower showerheads" from efficiency regulations. The Secretary of Energy is required to update all relevant regulations within 180 days to reflect this new definition.
The 'SHOWER Act' Clarifies Showerhead Rules, Exempting Safety Showers from Efficiency Standards
The aptly named Saving Homeowners from Overregulation With Exceptional Rinsing Act—or the SHOWER Act—isn’t about changing how much water comes out of your bathroom shower. Instead, it’s a technical cleanup bill focused entirely on clarifying the federal definition of a “showerhead” for energy efficiency rules.
The New Definition: Excluding Safety First
This bill makes one key change in Section 2: it updates the official definition of a showerhead used under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. The new definition now explicitly excludes “safety shower showerheads.” Essentially, if you have one of those high-flow emergency showers—the kind you see in chemical labs or factory floors used for immediate decontamination—the federal government will no longer count it when setting water and energy efficiency standards for consumer products. This change ties the definition directly to the industry standard set by ASME A112.18.1-2024.
Why This Matters for the Rest of Us
For most people, this change won’t affect the showerhead they use every morning. What it does is simplify things for manufacturers and regulators. Safety showers need to deliver a massive amount of water quickly and reliably, often far exceeding typical residential efficiency limits. By explicitly carving them out of the definition, the SHOWER Act ensures that the Department of Energy (DOE) won't accidentally apply water-saving mandates to equipment designed for emergency life-saving.
The Administrative Clock is Ticking
Because the definition is changing, the bill mandates a tight deadline for the federal government to catch up. The Secretary of Energy has 180 days from the Act’s implementation to issue any necessary updates to existing regulations to align with this new, narrower definition. This is a procedural move designed to eliminate regulatory confusion and ensure that the rules governing your bathroom fixture don't interfere with the equipment needed for industrial safety.