This week I read about a new way to save water — while you shower.
The Reveeco EcoVéa recycling shower analyses whether water is dirty (which it then discards) or clean (which it filters, treats, and reuses). For a 10-minute shower, the EcoVéa can save up to 80% on both water and energy.
(Typically, you produce dirty water when you soap and clean water when you just relax in the shower. Clean water is also produced when you turn the shower on and let water run for a few minutes before you jump in.)
I also read about a new smart meter, designed by Tony Fadell, a former Apple employee who once worked in the iPod development team.
Name's Nest, not HAL.
In typical Apple fashion, this new smart meter, dubbed Nest, is supposedly simple to use. It also “learns” from your behaviour to help you save money, increasing or decreasing temperatures when your home is empty or when you return home from work, among other features.
(As a side note, I was most interested about this device as some of our clients already use an innovative meter called the Cent-A-Meter that displays the real-time usage of electricity on a portable LCD monitor.)
Why do I mention these innovations?
Because they prove two important points.
First, technology isn’t just going to introduce improvements on big, expensive things like solar roof panels and cars. It’s going to affect smaller, cheaper things, too.
In fact, when you think about it, don’t you find it surprising that no one had improved upon shower technology—or home energy monitors—for such a long time?
Second, technology will always reinvent things—even those we take for granted. And in doing so, it will always find ways to save energy and create products that are more efficient. Today’s latest product is already dated.
In a way, technologists are just like marketers—they’re always trying to find solutions.
Have you come across a new piece of equipment that caught your eye?
JohnAmardeil.com 