Centuries back when Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote “Water, water, every where, Not any drop to drink” for the Rime of Ancient Mariner, he wouldn’t have even thought how relevant these could get in the 21st urban century. His words could come true if we keep wasting water without being conscious.
In our metropolitan lifestyle, we conveniently waste water without realizing. Our tailor made lifestyles have automatic washing machines which generously use about 100-200 liters of water per load; or those relaxing hot water showers which consume about 40 liters of water in just 10 minutes. We all consume water without being conscious about the wastage and scarcity.
This problem must have prompted Student designer Leo Yip of the Queensland University of technology to come up with a device called eco electric. Just as the name suggests, the device educates the users about how much water they consume at the same time promotes water conscious practices.
A durable and sustainable plastic product, it is first of its kind in the world and works in compliance with Australian government’s carbon emission schemes. Easy to assemble and disassemble, it is simple to use and intall along with being highly educative about water wastage in household. It has four major parts the sensors, interface, turbine pod and compost unit.
The turbine pod functions silently underground with the grey water pipe where it not only filters the dirty water from the house but also generates electricity for the house as well as for the system as well. The electricity is then relayed to the main power grid.
The compost also fitted underground has an easily lift able assist. It features a Bokashi compost bin that disposes bio- degradable filters and kitchen waste. The design is such that it increases the productivity of the compost while being user friendly.
A digital and vibrant LED interface on the top has large and easy to understand buttons. It plays an educational role for the users as it displays the quantity of water consumed per hour, shower time, electricity generated from waste water and water saving tips.
It warns when too much water has been used and also features the right and intermediate use of water along with displaying maintenance issues. An inbuilt allowance for software and physical up gradation of the interface ensures longevity of the product and reduction of waste.
A fully automated system, it is compact enough to be easily retro fitted in existing homes. You need not bang your head to understand the functionality as all the parts are visible and are the ones that users interact with. It is self sustaining, promotes water consciousness and educates people about the amount of water they waste and generates electricity too.
An eco friendly product till the end it comes in a biodegradable box and is filed with organically grown corn based packing foam.
Simple to use and easy to install, this is a revolutionary product that could change the way we use water (rather waste it!). I am quite sure this product wouldn’t be very expensive when hits the market but whenever it does, I am all for it to keep an eye on my water usage.
