Save $1351 On Bills With Hygienic 10-Minute Shower That Uses Only 5 Gallons of Water
Space travel offers little room for waste. Space travel demands efficiency. So if astronauts go for years without a fresh supply of water and they shower from this recycled source, Swedish industrial designer Mehrdad Mahdjoubi, asks “Why do we not do the same on Earth?” Not only does Mahdjoubi ask this question, he resolves this for us.
Water is a primary environmental concern on Earth today. “Water is more important than oil. The close relationship between water and energy can no longer be ignored,” the CEO of Masdar said in January. Designers such as Mahdjoubi address our relationship with water, preserving our priceless water.
Mahdjoubi’s design design dramatically lessens the amount of water needed for a 10-minute shower to a mere 5 gallons. Say what? Normally it takes about 150 gallons for a 10-minute shower! His design recycles the warm shower water, thus conserving water and energy. His design also improves the quality of the water, so one’s shower even more hygienic.
According to Mahdjoubi speaking on CNN, this is the one-line concept behind the OrbSys Shower: a high-tech purification system that recycles water while you wash. In the eyes of Mahdjoubi, we should start doing it now, before it becomes a necessity.
From CNN: “So how does it work? Similar to space showers, it works on a ‘closed loop system:’ hot water falls from the tap to the drain and is instantly purified to drinking water standard and then pumped back out of the showerhead. As the process is quick, the water remains hot and only needs to be reheated very slightly. As a result, it saves more than 90% in water usage and 80% in energy every time you shower, while also producing water that is cleaner than your average tap.”
This is great for the Earth’s water supply and amazing savings for your pocketbook, as well. “According to research carried out by his company, Orbital Systems, these savings translate to at least €1000 ($1351) off your energy bills each year.”
The happy trial in Ribersborgs Kallbadhus, a coastal bathing house in Sweden, proved a demanding testing ground and was met with success. However, the heart of this work, explains Mahdojoub, is much deeper: “If deployed on a bigger scale, the purification technology developed for OrbSys could be used in taps and drinking fountains in the world’s developing countries, where water-related illness is rife. ‘Everybody should save as many resources as possible,’ says Mahdjoubi, ‘but obviously these showers would be even more beneficial for people living in areas with water shortages.’ ”
“I want to get it to as many people as possible. That’s the next step. It’s not just about saving water. The motivation is to be smart about how we use our planet’s resources.”
There is desperate need for something this hopeful. Stefanie Blendis and Monique Rivalland for CNN write: “According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 1.2 trillion gallons of water are used every year for showering in the United States alone. And yet, rather disturbingly, across the world more than three times the population of the States lacks access to any clean water at all.”
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So how much is the price? I hope it is equal to $1351 and not more. Otherwise it will be one of those inventions that will be forgotten. I like the idea though and many will create their own version of the same idea, after all, you cannot patent an idea. So whoever sells this cheap will claim the market. UV sterilizers are now very cheap and efficient and could be one component.
They use nanomaterials:
“The present invention describes a hybrid device (1) for a recirculation
shower, allowing purification and either recycling of water or
discarding of water, wherein said hybrid device (1) comprises a
recirculation loop (2), a filter system (4) with a nano-filter (5) such
as for instance an electropositive nano-ceramic filter, e.g. a nano
alumina (fiber) filter, at least one filter quality sensor (3), at least
one pre-filter (6), and wherein the hybrid device (1) is arranged to
redirect the water from recirculation to drainage when the at least one
filter quality sensor (3) indicates the need thereof.”
Why still waste 5 gallons? We can efficiently clean ourselves with less than a gallon of water if recycling is included.
I only use 5 gallons without an expensive machine and heating is totally free with solar. I also get a 5 gallon 90 minute shower (I just need to turn it off for 85 minutes in the middle)
Here’s the link to the patent. It is still pending in the US PTO but may have been granted elsewhere.
https://www.google.com/patents/WO2013095278A1?cl=en&dq=WO2013095278+A1&hl=en&sa=X&ei=aYOTUp7PBYvZoASXiIKYDg&ved=0CDsQ6AEwAA
The math in this post is absurd.
First, 150 gallons for a 10-minute shower? Normal low-flow showerheads use 2.5 gallons per minute. That’s 25 gallons for a 10-minute shower.
Save $1351 per year in energy bills because I’m saving on water heating? My TOTAL household electric bill is $250 per year, and the vast majority of that is for space heating. For reference, I live in an average-sized American house.
And let’s not get into how inexpensive water is. I pay about $5 for 1000 gallons, so I would need to take 50 showers to save just $5 (25 minus 5, times 50 = 1000). Let’s say 300 showers per year, so $30 per year in savings from this device that costs how much?
As always, the best way to save is to use your head. Take a five-minute shower using solar-heated water, get clean, and get on with your life.
This complex technology might be appropriate for desert environments where water is scarce, but please don’t tout it as saving money by saving on energy costs. That’s absurd.
Places where you can take a 10 minute 150 gallon water showers do exists. When we went RV’ing in the western states and we parked in one of the Truckers Rest area where there is RV hookup, we went to take shower in the facilities bath rooms, and we were treated with a Niagara Falls type of overhead shower. The shower head is so big it covers your entire body. It is in Washington state where generally they have a lot more water than us here in dry California. The author or inventor of the device may have lived in such State and calculated the amount of energy required to warm up that much water using electric power, that is why the bill ran up to $1351 per year for the shower alone.
$250/year for both your gas and electric for average size home in US?
Is that maybe your monthly bill? I not saying their math is correct, but I have to wonder if something is up with your statement.
“The average U.S. household electric bill for June through August is expected to total $395, down 2.5% from last summer and the cheapest in four years”
http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=11831
Yes. In the last 12 months: 2400 kWh at about 10 cents per kWh, and 177 therms of gas at about $1 per therm. So $430 for gas and electric. I quoted my electric bill because my hot water heater is electric, supplemented by a solar panel.
I conserve, insulate, and supplement with solar power. I don’t use a clothes dryer or air conditioning. Even before adding solar, my electric bill was only about 7000 kWh per year ($700), so still nowhere near $1300 per year just for water heating.
I’m happy that there are people thinking about how to do things better, but overhyping new technologies decreases credibility and distracts from proven solutions to real, costly problems.
“Normally it takes about 150 gallons for a 10-minute shower!”
If standing under Niagara Falls counts as ‘taking a shower’.
150 litres per 10 minutes perhaps. But even that is a lot, 10 litres per minute is normal, so I’d say 100 litres for a 10 minute shower, not 150 gallons.
The post was to make available the CNN video and the inventors information from his website and the story. Perhaps the information varies place to place. Perhaps it bears more investigation. Still, his intention is to offer a new means to conserve water, to give more hope for safe hygienic showers in areas of lack (and unhealthy water). This is his message. Essentially he is moved to fulfill vital purpose that Earth does need with.
5 gallons wasted is still too much. A misting setup that includes nanomaterials for recycling could do the same shower job in under a gallon of water.
Cool. Wonderful. Groovy. Thank you.
Does this mean I shouldn’t pee in the shower any longer?
That’s the best part lost then !!
SMALL TYPO IN THIS LINE. YOU HAVE A DOUBLE WORD. “Mahdjoubi’s design design dramatically”
We are perfectly capable of reading small case letters.
Seems like this technology could be expanded to include more uses in the home than just the shower, such as the bathroom sink. Just don’t include the toilet – that water must go someplace far away!