Eco Factor: Hydrosense water consumption monitor tracks leaks to their source.
Tracking electricity consumption in a normal household isn’t a new concept, but tracking water usage and detecting the tap which is consuming the most with just one device installed somewhere in the plumbing system is unique, and the tech is not just ingenious but efficient as well. Shwetak Patel, a professor of computer science and electrical engineering at the University of Washington has developed a unique sensing device called Hydrosense, which can plug into water pipes in a household and detect the tap which is consuming the most water and can also detect leaks back to their source.
The inventor explains his system as a noise detecting system, which senses the change in the noise generated when water in a pipe is changed from static to kinetic. The “noise”, or shockwave, though minimal can be easily be detected by the sensing system and informs the user about which tap or appliance is using water. Patel states that different water appliances emit a unique noise, which is just like their fingerprint and the sensing device can identify the appliance with the amount and type of noise generated.
Patel sates that after experimenting the system over a variety of plumbing systems in different households, he found out that the system is about 95.6% efficient in detecting the correct tap. Patel also hopes to incorporate electrical, gas and water sensors into a unified technology and has cofounded a startup, Usenso, for the same.
Via: TechnologyReview
