‘Smart’ shower head should lead to less water use

At the CES in Las Vegas, the French company Hydrao showed a ‘smart’ shower head that emits red light signals if someone uses more than 50 liters of water while showering. The lighting in the shower head slowly changes color during the shower.

The first generation of the shower head was financed in 2014 on the French crowdfunding site Kiss Kiss Bank Bank with 125 percent of the required amount of 15,000 euros. Hydrao showed the second generation to the public at CES 2016. The new version will go on sale on Kickstarter in September for $99, Wired reports.

The shower head is intended to make people aware of their water use and also make it ‘fun’ to save water. The light in the shower head glows green at less than 10 liters and then gradually changes to red. No special connections are required to place the shower head. The electronics that measure the amount of water are not powered by a battery, but by a paddle wheel in the head and a dynamo.

The shower head can also be in contact with a smartphone via bluetooth. With an app on iOS or Android, the standard amount of water at which the lamp has to change color can be adjusted. It is also possible to enter how much water costs, and it is possible to keep track of how much water has been used in total and what the costs are.

Operation Hydrao shower head. Source: kisskissbankbank.com