H2Ometer
Making the World Aware of the Waste
The Problem
"Ahh this shower feels so nice. Think I'll just stay in here for another 10 minutes!"
Do you find yourself saying this in the morning? Do you seem suprised at the end of the month when your water bill is off the charts? Every minute spent in the average American shower uses roughly 2.5 gallons of water. Water waste is a problem that can be both very expensive for the consumer and for the provider. Even though water is often reused, the purification process costs a lot of money and burns up fossil fuels putting hazardous chemicals into the atmosphere. Currently, a consumer is unable to measure their water use throughout a month easily, resulting in excess usage. If something was there to make the user aware of how much water and money they were wasting, chances are that our nation would see major cutbacks in water use.
The Product
The H20meter is a hot new product from the midwest. It monitors water-use throughout a household or office, making the consumer aware of ways that they can cut back saving both resources and money. The entire system consists of realtime readable gauges (one on each water output in a house or office) that can be wirelessly linked to a wall meter showing a readout of current water usage, along with monthly or weekly quotas. Customers can also check their monthly savings through our company website.
The website will break down usage specific to which output the water is coming from. This will allow users to see where, speciafically they need to cut back, helping them to more efficiently save money. The website will also track the month to month usage, recording how much water and money is saved.
The Target
Who would be interested in this product?
Because the main consumer will be homeowners, our first mission is to gain support of contractors as the entire service is much easier to install during construction, rather than after the fact. Our product however, can be installed on a house that is already built with a little extra effort.
We also plan to reach out to large office buildings so that they are able to moniter if a sink has been left on or if a toliet is continually flushing. not only will this save them money, but it will also save this planets world's resources.
The People
Spencer McKee- At 19, Spencer is a freshman in Public Relations and Rhetorical Advocacy at Purdue University. Upon graduation he intends to attend law school and then become a multi-millionare.
Kyle Maple- At 20. is a major in Agricultural Economics at Purdue University. He is also pursuing a Certificate of Entrprenuership. Kyle enjoys long walks on the beach and dancing in the rain.
David Bryant- David, 20, is in his second year as a Business Marketing major at Purdue University. He has had experience in the plumbing industry and knows a lot about pipe fitting.
Maddie Wong- Maddie, 18, is a freshman at Purdue University majoring in Business Marketing. She is culturally competent, having lived on three seperate continents for multiple years.
The Prototype
The Place
Purdue University
Burton D. Morgan
Center for Entreprenuership
1201 West State Street
West Lafayette, Indiana
47907-2057
F.A.Q.
Does the H2Ometer have to be installed on every water output or can I save money and select only the few I use the most?
-Though most effective when linked to every output, the H2Ometer crew can work with each individual user to meet their individual needs.
How much will the H2Ometer cost me?
-Currently, the price for set-up and installation will be around $200 for the small package (3 guages and central location). Additional outputs can be purchased for $50. Though the basic web service will be free, various pay-services will be offered with more features.
Is there a guaranteed savings with the H2Ometer?
-No. It is up to each individual user to determine how much they benefit from this product. This product is designed to make the consumer more aware of their own wasteful habits, you have to do the rest.
Will I burn my eyes looking into the hot water as I read the updates on my shower head?
-Of course not. Though our product is "use at your own risk", our products are designed and tested for user safety. Read outs are slightly above water flow.
Why is there a dancing monkey on your website?
-The crew at H2Ometer likes to make life fun and interesting. We enjoy making people happy, which is really what motivated us to create our product in the first place. By saving water, one gets a sense of self-satisfaction that they are helping out our environment. We also just like monkies.
NEWS
4/28/2009- Hoping to bump into someone important in an elavator.
4/30/2009- Product Presentation
Summer 2009?- Development and sale
CONTACT
smckee@purdue.edu
kmaple@purdue.edu
dmbryant@purdue.edu
mdwong@purdue.edu