Water in the Home

Direct heating system 0.1%

Drinking and other 13.1%

Dish washing 7.7%

Personal washing 33.3%

Household Water Usehtt

p://w

ww.ra

inhar

vesti

ng.co

.uk/im

ages

/pie.g

if

Water in the Suburban Home:

Introduction

Water-related technology in the suburban home addresses the following areas and sub-topics:

Plumbing Potable cold and hot water supply On-demand hot water Solar water heating Faucets Septic systems, traps, drains and vents Toilets Rainwater, surface and subsurface drainage CollectionWater treatmentWater recycling Hot water heat recycling Grey water recyclingIrrigationPumps and ValvesHumidity sensing and control Sensors Humidifi ers Dehumidifi ersWater sensing and actuating Presence Level Flow SwitchesAuguino

CH.09 CH.08 CH.07 CH.06 CH.05 CH.04 CH.03 CH.02 CH.01

Gardens 6.1%

Clothes washing 14.0%

Tolets 25.0%

Car washing 0.7%

Active Solar Water Heating

Passive Solar Water Heating

http:/

/en.w

ikipe

dia.or

g/wiki

/Sola

r_wa

ter_h

eatin

ghtt

p://en

.wiki

pedia

.org/w

iki/S

olar_

water

_hea

ting


Solar Water Heating

Solar water heating systems are a mature re-newable energy technology which have been ac-cepted in most countries for many years. In a “close-coupled” SWH system the storage tank is horizontally mounted immediately above the solar collectors on the roof. No pumping is required as the hot water natu-rally rises into the tank through thermosiphon fl ow. In a “pump-circulated” system the storage tank is ground or fl oor mounted and is below the level of the collec-tors; a circulating pump moves water or heat transfer fl uid between the tank and the collectors (wikipedia).


Domestic Water Systems

On Demand Hot Water

http:/

/www

.byex

ample

.com/

libra

ry/illu

strati

ons/h

otwate

r/illus

_hotw

a-ter

_3.jp

g/ima

ge_v

iewhtt

p://w

ww.vi

ctoria

plumb

.com/

bathr

oom_

DIY/

page

/4


Potable Cold and Hot Water Supply

The providing of clean tap water in modern societies is a massive system of water purifi cation plants, aqueducts, water wells, above-ground and underground water storage tanks, underground tunnels, piping, and occasionally water pumps, all designed and built by civil engineers and construction companies under the supervision of such engineers (wikipedia.com).

Hot water supply is generally achieved through heating municipal or well water in a gas or electric water heater. A couple of alternatives to this are on-demand hot water systems and solar water heating.

On-demand Hot Water

On demand hot water systems may have potential as a convenience product if not a water conservation device. Currently they cannot be considered a “must have” product like a clothes washer or dishwasher. Verifi ed water savings will have to improve before utilities spend time and effort promoting these products. The current stock of on demand hot water heaters could be improved by automating their operation. On many systems the user must activate a pump by pressing a button prior to using hot water. If this activation step could be tied to the faucet mechanism so that turning on the hot water faucet fi xture automatically activated the pump, these systems would be much improved.


Hands Free “Leaning” Faucet Control

Image Caption

http:/

/www

.opule

ntitem

s.com

/LED-

Fauc

et-Lig

ht_p_

623.h

tml

http:/

/www

.youtu

be.co

m/wa

tch?v

=dub

bZJP

m8BM

http:/

/www

.h2ou

se.or

g


Faucets

Aside from newer, more effi ecient faucets, there are not many new technologies on the market. One product that has considerable potential in the residential market is the leaning style of hands free faucet controller, as shown at right. The black bar underneath the sink counter in Figure 1 is the on/off control for the faucet. The temperature and fl ow rate of the faucet are still adjusted with the handle, but depressing the bar by leaning against it starts the fl ow of water. When you move away, a spring pushes the bar out and stops the water fl ow. The bar also has a locking feature that enables the user to keep the faucet fl owing.

Another, product, which is easily replicable with Arduino is pictured at right. Simply rotate the LED faucet light onto your faucet tip and watch your stream change colors according to the water’s temperature. The light is blue during cold streams and it converts to red during hot streams. A similar technology was implemented in a shower head. This temperature sensitive LED Shower Head, changes from blue to green, and fi nally red as the water temperature increases. A video of the latter can be seen here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dubbZJPm8BM

The Arduino version of this product, Programmable LED Water Glow Sensor by Vision Design, is shown in this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dfnkw2BidpM


Composting Toilet Diagram

Composting Toilet

http:/

/www

.loca

lphilo

soph

y.com

/blog

/inde

x.php

http:/

/www

.land

care

rese

arch

.co.nz

/abou

t/tama

ki/se

wage

_was

tewate

r.as

p


Septic Systems

In modern plumbing, a drain-waste-vent (or DWV) is a system that removes sewage and greywa-ter from a building and vents the gases produced by said waste. Waste is produced at fi xtures such as toi-lets, sinks and showers, and exits the fi xtures through a trap, a dipped section of pipe that always contains water. All fi xtures must contain traps to prevent gases from backing up into the house. Through traps, all fi x-tures are connected to waste lines, which in turn take the waste to a soil stack, or soil vent pipe, which ex-tends from the building drain at its lowest point up to and out of the roof. Waste is removed from the build-ing through the building drain and taken to a sewage line, which leads to a septic system or a public sewer (wikipedia).

Toilets

Composting and incinerator toilets are com-pletely waterless options for some residential toilet applications. These products are expensive and do require some maintenance, but case studies report that users are very satisfi ed with these products (Vick-ers, 2001). In Europe a new electric toilet technology offers the possibility of water savings, but not energy effi ciency. The toilet is constructed with a small electric grinder in the trap. The grinder, similar to a garbage disposal, grinds all solids and then uses only a small amount of water to remove the waste into the sewer (www.h2ouse.org).


Low Tech Rainwater Harvest

Complex Rainwater Harvesting

http:/

/rams

inghk

aswa

n.info

/?p=2

0htt

p://w

ww.ec

ologic

algar

dens

.com/

summ

er_2

009


Rainwater and Drainage

Modern drainage systems incorporate geotex-tile fi lters that retain and prevent fi ne grains of soil from passing into and clogging the drain. Geotextiles are synthetic textile fabrics specially manufactured for civil and environmental engineering applications. Geo-textiles are designed to retain fi ne soil particles while allowing water to pass through. In a typical drainage system they would be laid along a trench which would then be fi lled with coarse granular material: gravel, sea shells, stone or rock. The geotextile is then folded over the top of the stone and the trench is then covered by soil. Groundwater seeps through the geotextile and fl ows within the stone to an outfall. In high groundwa-ter conditions a perforated plastic (PVC or PE) pipe is laid along the base of the drain to increase the volume of water transported in the drain (wikipedia).

Rainwater harvesting is the accumulating and storing, of rainwater. Although some rooftop materi-als may produce rainwater that is harmful to human health, it can be useful in fl ushing toilets, washing clothes, watering the garden and washing cars; these uses alone halve the amount of water used by a typi-cal home. Household rainfall catchment systems are appropriate in areas with an average rainfall greater than 200 mm (7.9 in) per year, and no other accessi-ble water sources (Skinner and Cotton, 1992). There are a number of types of systems to harvest rainwater ranging from very simple to the complex industrial sys-tems (wikipedia).


Pelican Whole House Water Filter

Water Softener

http:/

/www

.hydr

osoft

-uk.c

o.uk/h

owas

often

erwo

rks.ht

mlhtt

p://w

ww.pe

lican

water

techn

ologie

s.com

/carb

on_s

eries

.php


Water Treatment

Water purifi cation is a process of removing un-desirable chemicals, materials, and biological contam-inants from raw water. The goal is to produce water fi t for a specifi c purpose. In general the methods used include physical processes such as fi ltration and sedi-mentation, biological processes such as slow sand fi lters or activated sludge, chemical processes such as fl occulation and chlorination and the use of electro-magnetic radiation such as ultraviolet light (wikipedia).

The Carbon Series Premium Whole House Water Filter utilizes a multi stage fi ltration process to fi lter the water going into you home. It uses the high-est grade carbons available on the market which were designed/developed to completely remove or signifi -cantly reduce chlorine, sediment and/or particulate matter, VOC’s, SOC’s (synthetic organic chemicals), THM’s, atrazine, benzene, pesticides, tastes, odors and hundreds of potential contaminants and harmful chemicals from the water supply entering your home (www.pelicanwatertechnologies.com).

Water softening is an important process, be-cause the hardness of water in households and com-panies is reduced during this process.When water contains a signifi cant amount of calcium and magne-sium, it is called hard water, known to clog pipes and to complicate soap and detergent dissolving in water (www.truptwater.com).


Reverse Osmosis Water Filter

UV Water Filtration

http:/

/www

.naan

di.or

g/pro

vide_

drink

ing_w

ater/R

ever

seOs

mosis

.aspx

http:/

/coole

xcoo

ling.c

om/20

08/12

/29/ho

w-sa

fe-re

verse

-osm

osis-

is-for

-dr

inking

-wate

r/


Water Treatment (cont.)

Reverse osmosis is a fi ltration method that re-moves many types of large molecules and ions from solutions by applying pressure to the solution when it is on one side of a selective membrane. The result is that the solute is retained on the pressurized side of the membrane and the pure solvent is allowed to pass to the other side. To be “selective,” this membrane should not allow large molecules or ions through the pores (holes), but should allow smaller components of the solution (such as the solvent) to pass freely (wikipedia). One problem with home reverse osmosis systems is that the units are expensive to purchase, maintain and operate.

It is proven scientifi cally that 85% of child sick-ness and 65% of adult diseases are produced by water-borne viruses, bacteria and intestinal protozoa such as Cryptosporidium and Giardia. Inappropriate water treatment can lead to health problems - hepati-tis B, tuberculosis, meningitis, typhoid fever, tricomo-niasis, and cholera, glaucoma, gastrointestinal pain, salmonella, poliovirus, and diarrhea. In North Ameri-ca, E.coli O157:H7, an extremely dangerous strain of E.coli bacteria, infects more than 80,000 people annu-ally. Fortunately, E.coli O157:H7 is easily inactivated by UV light. Disinfecting your drinking water with ul-traviolet light (UV) makes good sense. Its environmen-tally safe, its well proven, and its the way of the future for water disinfection requirements around the globe (www.nimbuswater.co.za).


Water Heat Recycling

Drain Water Heat Recovery Pipe

http:/

/www

.relia

nt.co

m/en

_US/

Page

/Gen

eric/

Publi

c/esc

_pur

chas

-ing

_adv

isor_

gas_

fi red_

tank_

water

_hea

ters_

bus_

gen.j

sphtt

p://w

ww.so

lartre

x.com

/alter

nativ

e_en

ergy

.htm


Water Recycling

Water heat recycling (also known as drain wa-ter heat recovery DHR, greywater heat recovery, or sometimes shower water heat recovery) is the use of a heat exchanger to recover energy and reuse heat from drain water from various activities such as dish-washing, clothes washing and especially showers. The technology is used to reduce primary energy con-sumption for water heating. Standard units save up to 60% of the heat energy that is otherwise lost down the drain when using the shower (wikipedia).

This energy can be used to preheat cold water going to showers, a water heater, or a dedicated stor-age device. DHR systems reduce the energy needed for heating water and, in essence, increase the capac-ity of water heaters. Heat exchangers for use in DHR vary in terms of pipe sizing, orientation of the drain line (horizontal, vertical, or other), and heat exchanger de-sign. They also vary in cost and the amount of energy savings achieved. There are several residential drain-water heat exchangers commercially available in the U.S. Most have the ability to recover energy for later use. Units with storage capacity can recover heat from any waste hot water (e.g., from a dishwasher, clothes washer, bathtub, or shower) which drains through the heat recovery device. Without storage capacity, DHR units provide useful energy recovery only during si-multaneous fl ow of cold supply water and warm drain water (for example, during showering) (www.toolbase.org).


Greywater Culvert Detail

Grey Water of Sink Fills Tank

http:/

/www

.fl ick

r.com

/photo

s/939

9948

@N0

5/304

9288

568/

http:/

/www

.toolb

ase.o

rg/D

ocs/M

ainNa

v/New

Build

ingTe

chno

logies

/im-

ages

/gryw

trCulv

ert.jp

g


Water Recylcing

Greywater is wastewater generated from domestic activities such as laundry, dishwashing, and bathing, which can be recycled on-site for uses such as landscape irrigation and constructed wetlands. Greywater differs from water from the toilets which is designated sewage or blackwater to indicate it contains human waste. Greywater composes 50–80% of residential wastewater generated from all of the house’s sanitation equipment (except toilets) (wikipedia).

The future of greywater and reuse systems may be more in larger utility sponsored systems rather than in small-scale residential systems. Many utilities are actively pursuing the option of collecting, treating, and reusing graywater and delivering this water to customers via a dual pipe network. This water is primarily used for irrigation at larger sites. On the other hand, small-scale greywater systems installed at individual homes have had mixed success. Some systems perform well and give years of service while others are abandoned after only a short period of time. Development of residential greywater systems is complicated by the fact that small greywater systems are not legal in some cities and states. Furthermore, economic analysis of the potential water savings, benefi ts, and system costs reveals that these small systems are unlikely to be cost effective. Unless local laws are changed and the price of water increases dramatically, it is unlikely that small-scale residential greywater systems will reach a mass market in the near future (www.h2ouse.org).


WeatherTRAK

PICO64 Soil Moisture Probe

http:/

/www

.mes

asys

temsc

o.com

/prod

uct.p

hp?p

=48

http:/

/www

.aqua

craft.c

om/P

rodu

cts/A

q_Pr

oduc

t_List

.html


Irrigation

Drip irrigation, also known as trickle irrigation or microirrigation, is an irrigation method which saves water and fertilizer by allowing water to drip slowly to the roots of plants, either onto the soil surface or directly onto the root zone, through a network of valves, pipes, tubing, and emitters (wikipedia).

There are irrigation control systems that use web access for programming. WeatherTRAK® ET plus™ home irrigation system is one example. Supposely it saves you money, time and water. Enjoy your healthy landscape and lower water bills while you protect the environment and your property investment. Weather-TRAK solutions deliver superior payback compared with all other green technologies for the home. Just enter basic information about your landscape and the service takes over from there, automatically schedul-ing your irrigation system based on landscape needs and local weather conditions (www.hydropoint.com).

Another useful tool in irrigation could be a soil moisture sensor. The PICO64 probe is one of TRIME’s newest probes for monitoring volumetric moisture in soil and other porous materials. The large measurement volume is idea for burying and connec-tion to the GlobeLog (data logger) or for portable use, with the TRIME BT (Bluetooth) module and a PDA/smart-phone running MS Windows Mobile (www.me-sasystemsco.com).


Garduino

Botanicalls

http:/

/www

.botan

icalls

.com/

arch

ived_

kits/t

witte

r/htt

p://w

ww.in

struc

tables

.com/

id/Ga

rduin

o-Ga

rden

ing-A

rduin

o/


Irrigation (cont.)

Garduino is a gardening Arduino. So far, Garduino waters plants whenever their soil moisture level drops below a predefi ned value, turns on grow lights, but only when it’s dark out and only long enough to make the plants get 15 hours of total light (sunlight + supplemental light) daily, and alerts if the temperature around the plants drops below 50 degrees. Instructions can be found here: http://www.instructables.com/id/Garduino-Gardening-Arduino/

Another plant watering system is Botanicalls. Botanicalls is a system that was developed to allow plants to place phone calls for human help. When a plant on the Botanicalls network needs water, it can call a person and ask for exactly what it needs. When people phone the plants, the plants orient callers to their habits and characteristics. Call 212.202.8348 to hear more about each of the plants. Botanicalls Kits let plants reach out for human help! They offer a connection to your leafy pal via online Twitter status updates to your mobile phone. When your plant needs water, it will post to let you know, and send its thanks when you show it love. (www.botanicalls.com).


Hydraulic Solenoid Valves

Rain Aversion Project

http:/

/www

.eigh

tlines

.com/

blog/2

008/0

4/con

trollin

g-the

-rain-

by-a

rduin

o/htt

p://vi

meo.c

om/89

4013

http:/

/triol

ym.en

.mad

e-in-

china

.com/

prod

uct/Q

osEW

CzjE

acy/C

hina-

Hydr

aulic

-Sole

noid-

Valve

s.htm

l


Pumps and Valves

Pumps are often used to circulate water. There are many large pumps associated with the home, but a small pump is available from Robotshop. It is the Ergo Systems Auto Pet Waterer Pump & Transformer and costs $25. http://www.robotshop.ca/ergo-sys-tems-auto-pet-waterer-pump-transformer-4.html

Here is a video of someone who made their own Arduion controlled dog waterer: http://www.you-tube.com/watch?v=qwk4zPXW8ZY

Also in systems involving water, valves are used to open and close different parts of the system. Hydraulic solenoid valves are in general similar to pneumatic solenoid valves except that they control the fl ow of hydraulic fl uid (oil), often at around 3000 psi (210 bar, 21 MPa, 21 MN/m²). Hydraulic machin-ery uses solenoids to control the fl ow of oil to rams or actuators to (for instance) bend sheets of titanium in aerospace manufacturing. Solenoid-controlled valves are often used in irrigation systems, where a relatively weak solenoid opens and closes a small pilot valve, which in turn activates the main valve by applying fl uid pressure to a piston or diaphragm that is mechanically coupled to the main valve. Solenoids are also in ev-eryday household items such as washing machines to control the fl ow and amount of water into the drum (wikipedia).

What if you could build a machine that rains, but when you walked underneath you never got wet? This was where the Rain Aversion project began. See the video at right.


Types of Whole-House Humidifiers

Ultrasonic Humidifier

http:/

/www

.airo

swiss

.net/in

fo/ult

raso

nics/

http:/

/www

.remo

delgu

ide.co

m/im

prov

e/com

fort/h

umidi

fi er/h

umidi

-fi e

r_wo

rks.ht

ml


Humidity Sensing and Control

Hygrometers are instruments used for measur-ing relative humidity. A simple form of a hygrometer is specifi cally known as a psychrometer and consists of two thermometers, one of which includes a dry bulb and one of which includes a bulb that is kept wet to measure wet-bulb temperature. Modern electronic devices use temperature of condensation, changes in electrical resistance, and changes in electrical capaci-tance to measure humidity changes. In residential settings, hygrometers are used to aid humidity con-trol (too low humidity damages human skin and body, while too high humidity favours growth of mildew and dust mite) (wikipedia).

A humidifi er is a household appliance that in-creases humidity (moisture) in a single room or in the entire home. There are point-of-use humidifi ers, which are commonly used to humidify a single room, and whole-house or furnace humidifi ers, which con-nect to a home’s HVAC system to provide humidity to the entire house. Other types of humidifi ers include: Vaporizer (Steam Humidifi er) (Warm Mist Humidifi er), Impeller Humidifi er (Cool Mist Humidifi er), and Ultra-sonic Humidifi er in which a metal diaphragm vibrating at an ultrasonic frequency creates water droplets that silently exit the humidifi er in the form of a cool fog.


Dehumidifier

AirJuicer TM 4010

http:/

/www

.wata

ir.com

/prod

ucts.

php

http:/

/dehu

midifi

er1.1

10mb

.com/


Humidity Sensing and Control (cont.)

Conversely, a dehumidifi er is typically a house-hold appliance that reduces the level of humidity in the air, usually for health reasons. Humid air can cause mold and mildew to grow inside homes, which has various health risks. Very high humidity levels are also unpleasant for human beings, can cause condensation and can make it hard to dry laundry or sleep. Higher humidity is also preferred by most insects, including clothes moths, fl eas and cockroaches. Relative hu-midity in dwellings is preferably 30 to 50% (Wikipedia).

One system that capitalizes on excess humidity in the air is and Atmospheric Water Generator (AWG), which is a device that extracts water from humid ambi-ent air. Water vapor in the air is condensed by cooling the air below its dew point, exposing the air to desic-cants, or pressurizing the air. Unlike a dehumidifi er, an AWG is designed to render the water potable. AWGs are very useful in locations where pure drinking water is diffi cult or impossible to obtain, as there is almost always a small amount of water in the air. The two primary techniques in use are cooling and desiccants (wikipedia).

An available commercial product is the Airjuicer TM 4010 from Watair. It is basically a dehumidifi er combined with a water purifi cation system and bubbler.


Homemade Leak Sensor

Bluetooth Water Sensor Video Still

http:/

/www

.youtu

be.co

m/wa

tch?v

=h4N

d9o1

6M6k

http:/

/www

.embe

dds.c

om/th

e-be

st-e-

sens

or-w

ater-l

eak-d

etecto

r/Water in the Suburban Home:

Water Sensing and Actuating

A Water detector is a small electronic device that is designed to detect the presence of water and alert humans in time to allow the prevention of water damage. A common design is a small device that lays fl at on a fl oor and relies on the electrical conductivity of water to decrease the resistance across two con-tacts. A 9 volt battery then sounds an audible alarm in the presence of enough water to bridge the contacts. These are useful in a normally occupied area near any appliance that has the potential to leak water, such as a washing machine, refrigerator with icemaker, dehu-midifi er, air conditioner, or water heater (wikipedia).

Pictured top right is a homemade leak detector. Once it senses water, it sounds an alarm to warn the user or turn off a water valve immediately. It’s a super sensitive device, which can be used to detect a water leak under a washing machine, a water heater or any other water leak in your house! The E sensor water leak detector is based on the MC33794, which is capable to sense or measure how much current is fl owing between two plates. Normally, the MC33794 is used to sense the water and act as a second plate of the capacitor. Since the system works by sensing a fi eld, hence the sensor doesn’t need any moving parts or a direct contact with the water!

Another hacked leak sensor is the Bluetooth Water Sensor, which detects water leak, shuts off wa-ter and informs homeowner via cell phone. Video link is at right.


Capacitive Liquid Sensor

Differential Pressure Transducer

http:/

/parts

.digik

ey.co

m/1/p

arts-

kws/c

ompo

nents

-diffe

renti

al-pr

essu

rehtt

p://w

ww.pr

actic

alard

uino.c

om/pr

ojects

/wate

r-tan

k-dep

th-se

nsor

http:/

/www

.embe

dds.c

om/ar

duino

-bas

ed-ca

pacit

ive-liq

uid-se

nsor

/


Water Sensing and Actuating (cont.)

Measuring water levels is another common sensing function. Water or any other liquid level sen-sors can be handy around a house. It can be used to monitor a water tank level in a greenhouse or in other areas where liquid level has to be known. The idea is pretty simple – measure a capacitance charge between two metal plates/foils, which varies due liquid level change between them. Of course container has to be non metal. Probably most important part is to read capacitance. For this there is a handy Arduino Capacitive Sensing Library ready for you. To measure capacitance is to measure capacitors charge/dis-charge time through resistor.

Another way to measure water level is through pressure. Using a differential pressure transducer, the water pressure is measured at the bottom of the tank, and from that the fullness of the tank is calculated. Water pressure increases by about 9.8067kPa per meter of depth so a full tank 2m tall will have a pressure at the bottom of about 19.6134kPa above ambient atmospheric pressure. The “above ambient atmospheric pressure” part is important: it’s not enough to simply measure the pressure at the bottom of the tank because varying climate conditions will alter the reading. That’s why this project uses a “differential” pressure transducer that has two inlets. By leaving one inlet open to the atmosphere and connecting the other to the bottom of the tank the transducer will output the difference between the two, automatically compensating for varying air pressure and giving a constant reading for constant depth (practicalarduino).


Water Level Sensor

Water Level Sensor

http:/

/letsm

aker

obots

.com/

node

/2159

6htt

p://w

ww.yo

utube

.com/

watch

?v=-

LBMH

o2RJ

Ashtt

p://po

mpie-

ardu

ino.bl

ogsp

ot.co

m/20

07_0

1_01

_arch

ive.ht

ml



This low tech water level sensor consists of 10 resistors of 1k in a serial confi guration and one of 10k to limit current. It will be connected to 5v in order not to harm any fi sh. How it works? The resistors of 1k will be mounted on a plastic tube and a aluminum strip will be glued to the other side. When the water level is very high all the resistors will be shorted and no current will go the the Arduino. When the water level is very low all the 1k resistors will be active, in total 10k, so current will go to the Arduino. When the water level is somewhere in between some of the resistors will be shorted and some will not be shorted, resulting in a different current (pompie-arduino.blogspot).

Another project is a Water Gauge Sensor. Thisproduct lights up and buzzes when there is no water in the gauge. (Buzz optional). Another break through for Maxitrak we have developed the fi rst easy to fi t Low water alarm for model steam locos. Fits 5mm glass, glass and O-rings supplied to fi t 5mm glass to 6 mm fi ttings. 9 Volt, self-contained set in plastic box with cable connection to sensor. Perfect for low light conditions, night running or people who have poor eyesight (see video at right).

Another level sensor system checks the water level of an overhead tank and sends the data using radio frequency wireless modules. There are some LEDs on the receiving unit which indicate the water level and a piezo speaker which alerts when the tank is empty or is about to overfl ow (letsmakerobots).


Flow Control Gauge

Water Flow Sensor

http:/

/www

.seee

dstud

io.co

m/de

pot/w

ater-fl

ow-se

nsor

-p-6

35.ht

ml?c

Pat

h=6&

zenid

=594

b897

01c7

a201

5a13

064b

67ae

d4f44

http:/

/www

.okok

china

.com/

prod

uct/E

lectric

al/Ge

nera

tors_

Cable

s_Re

-lat

ed_P

rodu

cts/S

enso

rs/



Another way to gauge the level of a liquid is with the eTape Liquid Level Sensor is a solid-state sensor. Output resistance varies depending on the surface height of the fl uid. It’s primarily designed to be used in non-corrosive water-based liquids and dry fl uids (pow-ders). The eTape sensor’s envelope is compressed by the hydrostatic pressure of the fl uid in which it is immersed. This results in a change in resistance that corresponds to the distance from the top of the sen-sor to the surface of the fl uid: http://www.parallax.com/StoreSearchResults/tabid/768/txtSearch/fl oat/List/0/SortField/4/ProductID/590/Default.aspx

Flow rate is another way to measure water. This project,http://www.practicalarduino.com/projects/water-fl ow-gauge, uses a fl ow rate gauge containing a Hall-effect sensor that outputs a pulse rate proportion-al to fl ow rate. We’ve also included an LCD module so that the unit can report fl ow rate and volume both via the serial connection to a connected host and also directly via the LCD. The example program calculates and displays current fl ow rate, and also maintains two cumulative counters of the volume that has fl owed through the sensor.

This G1/2 Water Flow sensor consists of a plastic valve body, a water rotor, and a hall-effect sen-sor. When water fl ows through the rotor, rotor rolls. Its speed changes with different rate of fl ow. The hall-effect sensor outputs the corresponding pulse Signal. The part costs $9.50 from Seedstudio.com.


Persuasive Technology

Liquisys

http:/

/www

.wate

r-tec

hnolo

gy.ne

t/con

tracto

rs/au

tomati

on/en

dres

s/htt

p://w

ww.in

struc

tables

.com/

id/pH

loat-2

/htt

p://w

ww.ci

rcuitla

ke.co

m/ar

duino

-low-

cost-

water

-fl ow-

sens

or.htm

lhtt

p://w

ww.yo

utube

.com/

watch

?v=F

97-H

iDMD

Fw



The goal of another water fl ow project is to detect water fl ow and drive ambient LED display. This project use piezo transducer as sensor, Some LEDS for display and Arduino as main controller. The device is a rough prototype of what will eventually become a persuasive technology that motivates sustainable behavior and raises awareness about water use, say Stacey Kuznetsov, the designer (circuitlake.com). The video link is show at right.

Another important aspect of water sensing is chemicals. The Liquisys M transmitter provides safe and reliable measurement of pH/redox, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, turbidity and residual chlorine. A vast range of measurement sensors and a modular range of installation assemblies for fl ow through and dip applications are available. The range extends from single and multi assembly sensors through to complex self-cleaning and calibrating assemblies.

A DIY version is pHloat, a DIY kit that is made for use in conjunction with a pre-owned / pre-existing arduino microcontroller. Its purpose is to test the pH levels in local rivers, lakes, and streams due to the infl ux of air and water pollution often caused by acid rain. It is specifi cally designed to be used in areas that are home to refi neries, chemical plants, and manufacturing industries that are causing environmental damage. However, it can be used in any body of water to test acidity levels. pHloat functions through the modifi cation of a simple garden moisture and pH sensor that can be purchased at any home improvement store. Link is found at right.


Float Switch

Reed Switch Diagram

http:/

/www

.chica

gose

nsor.

com/

HowF

loatS

witch

esW

ork.h

tml

http:/

/www

.seee

dstud

io.co

m/de

pot/fl

ow-sw

itchm

rw1p

-p-2

56.ht

ml?c

Pat

h=84

_87&

zenid

=594

b897

01c7

a201

5a13

064b

67ae

d4f44



Two sensors which interact with water are the Flow Switch and a Reed Switch. The purpose of a fl oat switch is to open or close a circuit as the level of a liquid rises or falls. Most fl oat switches are “normally closed,” meaning the two wires coming from the top of the switch complete a circuit when the fl oat is at its low point, resting on its bottom clip or stop (for example, when a tank is dry). Most fl oat switches utilize a mag-netic reed switch to open or close the circuit. The reed is encased in a glass tube, which is cemented into a plastic or stainless steel stem with epoxy. The illustra-tion to the right demonstrates how a magnet can be used to open or close a circuit by moving it closer to or farther away from a reed switch. When the magnet comes close to the two contacts, they draw together and touch, allowing current to pass through. When the magnet is moved away, the contacts demagnetize and separate, breaking the circuit. In a fl oat switch, the magnetic reed switch is hermetically sealed in a stem, most often made from plastic or stainless steel. The fl oat encases a sealed magnet, which moves up and down the length of the stem as a fl uid level rises and falls.

Sparkfun sells the reed switch separately and http://www.fl uidswitch.com/ is a good resource for many kinds of liquid sensors and switches.


How-to-guide Video Still

Flower Robot

http:/

/en.w

ikipe

dia.or

g/wiki

/Flow

er_r

obot

http:/

/www

.youtu

be.co

m/wa

tch?v

=h-xa

yG20

AXs


Auguino

The following are links to various DIY projects focused on using water with Arduino:

How-to-guide for connecting Water Sensor to your Arduino: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-xayG20AXs

Using water as a button: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Mn6UmRbD6g

Connecting an Arduino board (www.arduino.cc) to a Rinnai Infi nity tankless hot water service so it can be controlled by a home automation system: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXzgxtWD3lU

A piano that plays with water! A new concept for water musical instrument: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5vX840NZTg

An Arduino based Smart Thermostat. It uses an arduino, 3310 LCD shield, 5 x Dallas/Maxim D18B20 temp sensors. Displays the temperature of a hot water cylinder at 5 different ‘heights’, and shows how many showers can be had with that water. It also allows the user to request water for a certain number of showers, it will then fi re the boiler accordingly: http://www.you-tube.com/watch?v=Bzjp8KM3nvc

Finally, check out Flower Robot, used as intel-ligent home appliances: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower_robot


Water in the Home

Documents

Transcript of Water in the Home