PUB, Singapore’s national water agency, is requesting for proposals (RFP) to supply smart shower devices that provide real time information on water usage during showers.
An NUS-PUB behaviour study, conducted from July 2015 to March 2016, on the use of smart shower devices indicated that households can save about 5 litres of water per person per day, when provided with real-time information while taking their showers.
Building on the findings, PUB will install the devices for some 10,000 new homes under a demonstration project called the ‘Smart Shower Programme’ over the next few years to validate the effect of such devices to conserve water during showers.
The successful use of such devices can potentially help households save about 3% of their monthly water bill, PUB said.
PUB looking for better features for smart showers
Through the RFP, PUB also hopes to tap on innovative ideas from the industry to improve the features of existing smart shower devices available in the market. This includes exploring alternative ways of providing real time feedback on water consumption during showers, to achieve the intended reduction in water consumption.
Another enhanced feature that PUB is looking at is the compatibility with other smart devices such as smart phones, tablets and laptops, allowing users to download the data to their personal smart devices so that they can monitor their progress over a certain period of time.
The RFP aims to leverage economies of scale to mass produce the smart shower devices for 10,000 households under the Smart Shower Programme, which is slated to begin from the first quarter of 2018.
Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli has announced in Parliament on 8 March, that PUB will introduce two new water conservation programmes to further encourage water efficiency within households in Singapore.
One of the programme is for PUB to install smart shower devices for 10,000 new homes as a demonstration project and provides real-time information on water consumption during showers. The other programme is to replace the nine-litre water closets with more efficient ones.
“Showering typically comprises 29 percent of a household’s monthly water consumption. There is great potential to achieve substantial savings if we can change the user’s behaviour during his/her shower time,” said Mr Michael Toh, PUB’s Director of Water Supply (Network).
“Water is a precious resource, and everyone is encouraged to make water conservation a way of life. By making users more aware of their water usage in their daily activities, we hope to encourage people to adopt good water-saving habits and use water wisely, reducing their water bill,” he added.
The RFP will be launched on 28 April 2017 and will close at the end of May 2017, PUB informed.
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