Grantee Research Project Results
Developing a Wireless Device for Monitoring Water Usage for Hotel Showers
EPA Grant Number: SU835724Title: Developing a Wireless Device for Monitoring Water Usage for Hotel Showers
Investigators: Johannes, Tyler , Cornell, Claire , Hawrylak, Peter
Current Investigators: Johannes, Tyler , Hawrylak, Peter , Cornell, Claire , Mongold, Kameron , Nichols, Will , DeCook, Ryan , Flint, LeRoy Albert , Lewis, Rocky , Li, Xiang , Redding, Victoria , Singh., Anshuman
Institution: University of Tulsa
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Phase: I
Project Period: August 15, 2014 through August 14, 2015
Project Amount: $15,000
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet (2014) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: P3 Challenge Area - Safe and Sustainable Water Resources , Pollution Prevention/Sustainable Development , P3 Awards , Sustainable and Healthy Communities
Objective:
Hotels consume a significant amount of water in the U.S. and around the world. Most hotels do not monitor individual guest water usage and as a result, millions of gallons of potable water are wasted every year by hotel guests. The proposed work aims to develop a novel low cost wireless device for monitoring water use from hotel guest room showers. This device will be designed to fit most new and existing hotel shower fixtures and will wirelessly transmit hotel guest water usage data to a central hotel accounting system.
Approach:
The proposed wireless device will have three main components: a flow meter, an embedded system and software, and a resource accounting system. This technology will provide hotel guests with the ability to monitor their daily water online or using a smartphone app, and will assist hotel guest in modifying their behavior to help conserve water. The proposed wireless device will be marketed to the hotel industry to reduce costs by promoting water conservation among hotel guests. An interdisciplinary team of undergraduate students from chemical engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, and management and marketing will work in a collaborative effort to build and test a prototype device, and explore the market potential of the wireless device.
Expected Results:
It is anticipated that this project will provide a low cost, accurate, small size, low power, wireless device for monitoring water use from hotel showers. The primary goals of this Phase 1 project are to build and test a working prototype and to conduct a preliminary market analysis.
Supplemental Keywords:
Water conservation, Urban water planning, Sustainable water managementRelevant Websites:
P3 Phase II: Developing a Wireless Device for Monitoring Water Usage for Hotel ShowersProgress and Final Reports:
P3 Phase II:
Developing a Wireless Device for Monitoring Water Usage for Hotel Showers | 2016 Progress Report | 2017 Progress Report | Final ReportThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.