Eco Nudge Tap

7/21/2019 Eco Nudge Tap

1/31

The

Eco NudgeTap

A concept that has the potential to instill

behavior for realizing a sustainable future

By Sridhar Surpanini

18-May-2012


2/31

A Few Global Numbers for Perspective

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_resources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_resourceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_resources


3/31

A Few Global Numbers for Perspective


4/31

A Few Local Numbers for Perspective

(Bangalore)

Less water to goaround

BWSSB* currently suppliesapproximately 900 millionlitres (238 million gallons) ofwater to the city per day,despite a municipal demand of

1.3 billion liters

* Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage BoardData source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangalore_Water_Supply_and_Sewerage_Board

Picture courtesy of K. Murali Kumar (from the newspaper THE HINDU)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangalore_Water_Supply_and_Sewerage_Boardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangalore_Water_Supply_and_Sewerage_Boardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangalore_Water_Supply_and_Sewerage_Boardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangalore_Water_Supply_and_Sewerage_Board


5/31

A Few Local Numbers for Perspective

(Bangalore)

GroundwaterDepletion

Groundwater extraction has

caused the water table to dropvariously from 90 to 300meters (300 to 1000 feet)below ground level (ascompared to an average watertable depth of about 30 meters

(90 feet) two decades ago)

Data source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangalore_Water_Supply_and_Sewerage_BoardIllustration: Madhu Ramaswamy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangalore_Water_Supply_and_Sewerage_Boardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangalore_Water_Supply_and_Sewerage_Boardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangalore_Water_Supply_and_Sewerage_Boardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangalore_Water_Supply_and_Sewerage_Board


6/31

So yes we do

have a problem


7/31

Question is

are we bothered?


8/31

Trigger Point & Motivation

Picture courtesy of Corbis.com

Everyday I see my colleagues

using up precious water to wash

their coffee cups... without a

thought in their minds that while

they are cleaning their cups the

water is running away in to the

drain...

It is not that they are ignorant about the water shortage or that they

intentionally like to waste the water. The problem I see is that there is not

enough feedback to make them realize the amount of water that is being

wasted, obviously the audio-visual effect of the water flowing down the drain is

not a deterrent enough. However my feeling is that the interaction does not

clearly communicate the amount of water that is optimum. Thus for now its not

a conscious decision that the water is getting wasted... it just does not register...


9/31

The taps we use


10/31

Mechanisms - Turn, Lift & Press

Pictures courtesy of Corbis.com


11/31

Mechanisms - Turn, Lift & Press

These mechanismsusually result inmore of wastage &

less of usage



12/31

What are the available Solutions?


13/31

Low Flow TapsPicture courtesy of Corbis.com

Splitting a single stream in to multiplethin jets Mixing air in water giving an illusion ofmore (areators)



14/31

Pedal based


Pressing only when needed does reduce water

usage to a large extent


15/31

Motion based water dispensing


Possibly the ultimate solution in reducing

water wastage However the downside is that

these require batteries or mains power supply

to run


16/31

However are we able to

change user behavior?


17/31

Truth is none of the existing solutions are

able to change user behavior towards

efficient water usage


We forget the water running in the

background


18/31

Concerns

Scarcity No cost effective way to manufacture water

Ground water depletion in urban areas

Water delivered by tankers means highercosts and usage of fossil fuels for

transportation

Social

Concerns not reaching out to the middle

class Problem of plenty

Scarcity has not registered

The most scary part is that we are notbothered

It is the governments problem not my

problemPictures courtesy of Corbis.com


19/31

Goal

is to nudge user towards a behavior

that enables sustainabilityPicture courtesy of Corbis.com


20/31

The Solution

Needs toprovide

activefeedback

Should notrequire an

externalpower supply

Needs toinduce a

behaviorchange


21/31

Looking in the vicinity for

solutions


22/31


23/31

Looking Around

Steady acceleration

A range of desired speed for best mileageindicated by a colored (green) band on the

speedometer

For some time now motorbikes and

scooters in India have the speedometer

indicating the range of optimum speed

which would give the best mileage.


24/31

A Plausible Solution

Provide choices upfront and

Give the active feedback of the choice

The range solution can be applied in two

aspects of the tap -



25/31

Let the user make a choiceto use a lower volume vs. ahigher volume of water

However add the rangecolor band which shallprovide a visual feedback of

the amount of water that isdeemed to be ok for

consumption

Provide Choices Upfront

The Eco Nudge Tap a concept by Sridhar Surpanini


26/31

Active Feedback of choice made

Illuminate the water based on the choice made

Low volume (green)

High volume (red)

Use LEDs at the spout

to light up the water

The

Eco

Nu

dgeTapaconceptbySridharSurpanini

Products that use LED to light up tap water are already being mass produced. However the

light is being used to indicate the water temperature. Tip: search for LED tap light on

Google Image or YouTube for references.


27/31

Wait how do we light the LED

without a power supply?

The required power is generated by the water

that is flowing through the tap

Power generation using tap water is a proven

concept and here is an exampleEco Power

FaucetsIn the example the water flow is used to charge the batteries which then deliver power

to the sensors. However in our case there is no need to have power all the time. It is only

required when the water flows and thus the need of a battery is greatly reduced.
http://www.totousa.com/Green/Products/EcoPowerFaucets.aspxhttp://www.totousa.com/Green/Products/EcoPowerFaucets.aspxhttp://www.totousa.com/Green/Products/EcoPowerFaucets.aspxhttp://www.totousa.com/Green/Products/EcoPowerFaucets.aspx


28/31

Predicted Benefits!

The feedback given by lighting up the water coming out of the tap in redhas a high chance of giving rise to a feeling of guilt in the user and thuswould make him/her change behavior

The red/green light also provides a social feedback... the person using thetap will be conscious about the fact that other people walking by can seethe color of the water and this could generate 2 types of feelings... one is where the user of the tap would want to showcase that he/she is using

the tap in the eco mode and

if he/she is using the tap in the non-eco mode then other persons woulddisapprove him/her wasting the water

The nudge to choose the eco mode would possibly spill over to otheractivities where the person would make the eco choice either by guilt orfor the feeling of contributing to saving the planet


29/31

1. Beat up this proposal (Use ConnectUs for discussions)

At a conceptual level

Lighting up water in green is going to nudge peopletowards a sustainable lifestyle yeah whatever

At a practical level

Using tap water flow to generate power for an LED light

yeah that will happen!

2. If it survives beating up, then we think what todo next

What to do next?


30/31

What can be built on top of this

concept? A sensor under the faucet would tell whether the user was using the

water or it is only going down the drain. Thus if user is not using the waterfor a prescribed amount of time and water is flowing, it shall turn red incolor. Of course one can automatically turn it off... but then we want theuser to turn it off... as we want him to change his behavior. If weautomatically turn it off we are not nudging him enough to make changes

in his/her behavior.

Taps made from transparent(full or in parts) materials can glow based onthe amount of water they are dispensing. The glow can be based on amount of water dispensed in a day/per use/

Collect and analyze the data If the system can identify who used the tap then give them badges for relative

less usage.

Post these badges on their social networking sites


31/31

Documents

Eco Nudge Tap