How much water do you use in the shower? 100 litres? Who knows, and since most shower meters work by telling you how long you’ve been in the shower, they’re not really a useful or easily understood guide to water usage. The Show Me water consumption meter prototype shows you how much water you use by visualising the effect of a blocked drain, i.e. the shower stall filling with water.

Built for a scientific paper researching the effect of ambient displays on water usage in the shower, Show Me switches on a blue LED every time 5 litres of water is used in the shower. The prototype worked successfully and most of the people tested lowered their water consumption by 10 litres. The effect was lost however as soon as the apparatus was removed. I reckon it would be a lot more effective if it could be set to disconnect the hot water. Very cool indeed.

The paper is based on the assertion that ambient displays are suitable for a constant and subtle persuasion by providing continuous and unobtrusive feedback. show-me gives the user feedback and an impression of the amount of water going down the drain. This impression is achieved by exploiting the metaphor of the drain being closed, and the water level increasing within the closed shower.

Tags: gadget, show+me, water+usage+visualization, water+usage+visualizer, shower+water+usage+visualization