Every Drop Counts: Installing Smart Showers

By Aya Khalaf
August 11, 2021 · 3 minute read

Reality of Water Resources in Our World Today

Our world nowadays has been going through multiple dilemmas and problems that are significantly affecting the livelihood of our generation and future generations. Nevertheless, it is our responsibility to take action in tackling these issues before they get out of hand and cause irreversible damage to our planet. One of the main issues with climate change and the increased strain on our natural resources is the unsustainable use of water for things like farming, energy, and industry.  However, the average household uses 150-300 gallons of water each day. Aggregating these numbers across the world, it is clear that we need to be smarter with the way we use this invaluable resource.

Humans should take extra care in using their water because according to a study made in 2016 by the journal Science Advances, at least four billion people across the world experience severe water stress for at least one month per year. Those in developed countries often take having access to clean water for granted. As climate change continues to accelerate, it is our job to ensure that we allow more people across the world access to clean water - today and in future generations.

Tackling the Water Crisis with Innovation

With each passing day, our world is going through changes. By changes, I am referring to evolution, more specifically the evolution of technology. Mankind relies on technology unconditionally, they choose those smart machines in order to make living and surviving on Earth easier. Personally, I don’t see why humans shouldn’t take advantage of their inventions and put them to good use. Smart machines could be a great solution for the water crisis, and a major proposition circulating around the science world is a smart shower.

Installing Smart Showers

Now, dear reader, you may be thinking, “A smart shower? I don’t want to have some robot bathe me!” Do not worry, that is not what I mean at all! This smart shower is way different; it is built on measurements and calculations.

First things first, this shower looks just like any other shower we use in our normal lives, but it’s slightly elevated. Let’s be honest here, we all love wasting our time in the shower doing our very own live concerts and pep talks. However, all of this fun stuff is happening while we have the water running, and that is where the water crisis starts!

Normally, you would hop in the shower, turn the water on and hide behind the curtains waiting for the water to change to the perfect temperature - you’re still wasting a huge amount of water doing that too. Here’s where this smart shower comes in handy:

The smart shower has a smart sensor, the Passive Infrared Sensor (PIR), underneath the handle which detects a body and keeps moving upwards until it can’t identify the presence of any silhouette and then stops moving. This sensor is essentially used to measure the height of the person showering. Now you’re probably wondering what height has to do with saving water. Imagine this: there’s person A and person B, person A is throwing water 3 meters away from person B. Then, the distance is changed to 1 meter between the two persons, consequently it is obvious that less water is wasted. That’s why this PIR comes in handy where less water is wasted.

In addition to the smart sensor, the shower also has a digital balance which measures the weight of the person. After having the height and weight of the person, this smart shower calculates how much water this person needs in order to shower with  the given measurements. For instance, a short person probably does not need as much water to shower as a tall person does.

Wrapping It Up

In conclusion, this smart shower could be the key to the water crisis. People all around the world should realize that this transparent liquid is so precious. It is literally one of the main substances keeping them alive. It’s all about the pattern and routine surrounding us, and this invention could add some variations to our routines and actually change our strategy in using our water.

Sources:

reality of water resources in our world today:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kemira.com%2Finsights%2Fspains-way-out-water-crisis-water-reuse%2F&psig=AOvVaw0ZiaMRDpIrCKTl0ZlJzwoY&ust=1627480802986000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAwQjhxqFwoTCPCYlta0g_ICFQAAAAAdAAAAABAR

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/world-water-day-water-crisis-explained 

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About The Author

Aya is a high school rising-senior. She is a huge bookworm, spends too much money on books and is basically a school nerd. Contact her at aya@sciteens.org for article suggestions and book recommendations.

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