Aqua Timer

Hack4Earth Submission

By Bennett Feng

The Problem

Water waste is a critical issue that not only our individual finances but also the broader environment.

When it comes to showers, water waste occurs primarily due to excessively long shower durations and inefficient water use.

On average, a typical American household uses approximately 80-100 gallons (about 300-380 liters) of water per person per day.

A Standard Shower (15 minutes) uses approximately 30-37.5 gallons (114-142.5 liters) per shower which is around ⅓ to ¼ of how much water you use a day

Why

This device was inspired by my field trip at Suez Water Treatment facility in Haworth, New Jersey. At the facility I saw how much resources and time was used to purify the water to a usable standards. I also found out how much of this hard work was wasted. Showering, as you could see on the chart on the paper before, was third on the most water used for domestic uses. I decided to tackle this problem, to reduce the amount of resources and time used to create this resource that we use daily.

I made this device to:

1. Save water
2. Make people aware of how much water and money you used.
3. It also is can be used for many other household uses.

My Solution

At its core, the Aqua Timer is a user-friendly gadget that seamlessly integrates into your daily shower routine. It monitors shower duration in real-time and provides information such as cost and amount of water used to the user. This innovative approach empowers individuals to make informed choices about their water and money usage, ultimately helping them reduce their environmental footprint and lower their utility bills. Now, let's explore the key features and functionalities that set our product apart.

My Project

• Core: The Arduino
• Controls EVERYTHING!

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• Display: LCD Screen
• Shows
• Time used for shower
• Amount of water used
• Cost of the water used

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• External: 3D Printed Box
• The structure of the Aqua Timer

Aqua Timer Results

Time showering before Aqua Timer: Time showering after Aqua Timer:

Me: 13 min 5 min

Mom: 17 min 8 min

Dad: 10 min 7 min

Grandpa: 45 min 30 min

Grandma: 12 min 5 min

My Dad’s Friend: 9 min 6 min

If average time saved: 7.5 min

Average water saved: ≈ 15.75 gallons

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Current Solutions Comparison

Future Plans

Some examples of future improvements:

• Technical Improvements
• Parts
• Screen with more display options
• External box with waterproof material
• Make it more customizable
• Coding

My Survey

Based on my survey many people weren’t aware of how much water and money they are using while taking long showers.

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My goal is to make people aware of the fact so that they would use less water which would save money as well as water.

Thank You!!!

I had so much fun working on this project and I want to thank all the staff of Hack4Earth for making this possible!!!

This button is used to turn on and off the Aqua Timer

This button starts,stops the timer and (in setup mode) selects the number you want to change

This button changes modes(timer mode and setup mode)

This button makes the number go up in value

This button makes the number go down in value

The LCD screen as the display

Timer

Time: (1,2,3,4…)”

Water used: (100,200,300...10000)ml

Cost: $(0.0000,0.0001,0.002…10.0000)

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Example for 10 minute shower:

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Time: 600”

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Water used: 60000ml

(15.8503gl)

Cost: $0.0913

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(future addon)

Projected cost/yr:$33.3245

Projected H₂0/yr: 5785.3595gl

(If you shower once a day) per person

Timer Start Delay

(10...3,2,1) seconds to start

ShowerTimer setup

Flowrate: 100ml/sec *

H₂0 cost: $4.30/ccf(100 cubic feet)

Shower delay: 4 sec

Setup Mode

ShowerTimer

Flowrate: 100ml/sec

H₂0 cost: $4.30/ccf(100 cubic feet)

Shower delay: 4 sec

Starting Screen