While it’s less relevant here in the UK, many parts of the world struggle to keep up with demand for fresh water. From cities to isolated homes, making sure we are not using too much is becoming an ever more pressing issue.
Here in the UK, water meters are continually being rolled out to make sure those that use more, pay more. So, how can you keep an eye on how much you are using?
The challenge
The object of the challenge is to make people aware, and ultimately reduce, how much water they use while taking a shower. Though showers on the whole use less water than baths, modern power showers can fill a bath in less than 10 minutes. Hardly an advert for resource efficiency.
Perhaps this is best done by using a screen that tallies up like a petrol pump, with litres used in one column, cost in the other, allowing people to make their own informed decision about when to finish and get out. While the sentiment is there, any such additional system is going to require a far bit of installation.
The aim is to make everything as efficient as possible. No external power source should be used, though the water flow itself can be used to produce power. Any solution should also serve to be advisory and not too prescriptive, so any thought of suddenly stopping the shower after 30 or 40 litres is far from ideal.
With everything else becoming ‘smart’ these days, the challenge is essentially how to make a ‘smart’ shower to help with the issue of water conservation?
Like always, we have got an idea in mind of how this is best achieved and we will be publishing it in the March issue of Eureka. In the meantime, let us know how you’d tackle the problem.
The solution comes from French based start up Hydrao. Displaying its device at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last month, the shower head flashes red as the user goes over a 50 litre threshold. The aim, says the company, is to get people to think seriously about water conservation.
The Hydrao product comes as a standalone showerhead that can be retrofit in less than a minute. Inside is an impeller, which is used to both power the onboard electronics and LEDs, as well as measure the amount of water used, avoiding the need for batteries.
As a visual guide to users, the LED in the showerhead gradually changes colour as more water is used. Once a 50 litre limit has passed it flashes red to suggest it might be time to get out. And, like all things smart it comes with a corresponding app to allow users to track water use over time, change the upper threshold and see any savings that have been made.
The company reports that Hydrao reduces water consumption on average by 25% and will cost between £60 to £80.
