ECO FAUCET | Smart Shower Faucet to reduce Water Consumption | Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design
In collaboration with IKEA and Space10 | Team: Shruti KNR, Chelsey Wikmark
Highlights: Small Nudges for Behaviour Change, Design for Social Impact
A Smart faucet that helps users make small changes for a large impact
on user’s personal resource consumption pattern.
Users get notified by setting their pre- determined water usage goal -
Low, Eco and High, the sensor turns on the subtle light without intruding the shower.
Eco Shower Faucet
Eco is a shower faucet that helps people to make a greater impact on water consumption by taking small steps towards it. It can be integrated with existing shower units.
RESEARCH
The project initiated with research interviews for understanding Fresh Living and it's perception.
As the topic was broad, we created research tools to identify potential areas during our fieldwork.
The tools used were -
1. TIMELINE - To understand the daily schedule and the moments that contribute to a healthy living. We mapped out a regular day across the timeline.
Learnings - This tool helped us to understand that taking small steps the previous day to create cumulative positive effect for the next day.
2. HOMESPACES - To identify how people use spaces for their own time vs shared time. Cue cards and blank cards were given to the users to map out.
Learnings - Users mapped out the spaces and their perception of what the spaces mean to them.
INSIGHTS AND SYNTHESIS
Insights that emerged out of research were directed towards -
Awareness raising products and spaces that promote mindful consumption of resources.
Promoting Fresh Living through a subtle and subliminal methods.
CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT - IKEA FAMILY as a global impact
How might we design objects for home environment to facilitate small steps towards healthy living?
Creating small steps towards a sustainable future.
How does it work?
The product is a ECO a Shower Faucet that is integrated with existing shower systems. Each IKEA family member installs it in the bathrooms. The user can set one of the three levels - Eco,Lo, Hi to set the determined water usage. When the pre-determined level is reached, the knob emits a soft light to remind the user. The knob is connected to the IKEA Family website, uses the data to understand the global water consumption.
The users then can monitor their water usage pattern over time in comparison to the IKEA Family global average and be responsible towards it.
"If each of the 70 million IKEA Family members were motivated to reduce their shower time by just 1 minute each day, together they could save over 150 billion litres of water each year"
PROTOTYPING
A. First level Prototype
The paper prototype was done to test perception about water consumption.
Also to test user's feedback on
Self- Initiated Settings
Auto-Learning Settings
Feedback
Shower time being a more reflective time, users wanted it to be less punishing
B. Second Prototype
The Second prototype was built using a strip of RGB LEDs and Frosted Glass.
KNOB Feedback
To give the knob a feedback for the three states; it was inbuilt with a ratchet.
When the user would set the LO,ECO or HI level and turned the shower on, The Flow meter calculated the water flow as per the desired settings.
Once it reached the desired setting, the Knob glows reminding the user subtly.
C. Third Prototype - Presentation
The Third prototype was built by measuring the litres of water that flowed through the shower, using a flow meter. The water was then pumped back for exhibit purposes.
D. Final Prototype - Exhibition at Space10
The final Prototype was built for the exhibition to interact with.
FINAL PRODUCT
IKEA ECO Faucet
LO - ECO - HI Settings