Research

Ongoing research:

• Can we identify a particular type of activated carbon and soap/shampoo combination that is the most effective at removing particulates ***Almost complete***.
• What is the typical heat loss in a normal shower from shower head to the drain aka how much heating is needed ***Almost complete***.
• Quality control of source components.
• Life Cycle Assessment and scoping the needed certifications for products.
• Making a PCB for our smart shower system
• Testing 12 V DC ballasts with the UV lamps to allow for a fully battery/renewable powered Showerloop

Collaborators and help welcome! Contact us.

The original thesis that started it all. The document includes all the experiments conducted to test water quality before and after going through the filters as well as previous research and future recommendations - which is still the direction of Showerloop today.

During the making of the ShowerMagic thesis Eduard joined the team to develop an automation system and a software platform whereby the speed of individual experiments could be increased dramatically. Later the same idea was simplified to run on an Arduino micro controller instead of a PC.

In 2014 Anup Mishra joined the Showerloop team for a work placement and in 2015 completed his Bachelors thesis. The topic was the final piece of the shower puzzle - can we remove sufficient amounts of soap from the water each cycle. The results were very promising but more research is required because the ingredients in soap are so varied.

In 2015-2016 Nishan Khadka and Gaurab K.C. joined the team for their work placements. Having twice the responsibility it was tough at first but the guys showed lots of enthusiasm and after some coaching met the goals laid out in the beginning.

One of the objectives was to test simple and inexpensive water quality sensors available from Ebay. While much much more experimenting and quality control should be performed to verify the results (replicate them with multiple sensors) we did get a pretty clear picture of what sensors proved reliable, especially when comparing the cost of these kits to professional chemical lab equipment.

"According to the analysis, pH and conductivity meter are the most reliable test kit and can be used for home test use. TDS meter was not reliable as it showed half of the actual value. Test strips for hardness showed reliable values as the true value of hardness in the sample water was on the range of test strips.

Test strips used for sulphate test had large range (0-250 mg/l). When comparing test strips with Hach Lange, it showed the reliable range while nitrate test strips also showed the reliable range. For E. coli and Coliform confirmation, the test sample also showed the reliable output. Test sample was able to detect at least two coliform colonies.

As a whole, pH meter, conductivity meter, test strips for hardness, sulphate and nitrate and, Coliform and E. coli test powders are reliable for testing home base shower water. However, it is important to notice the range and limitations of test kits before using it."

Testing our suppliers 25 W UV lamps for effectiveness to deactivate e.coli bacteria, an indicator organism commonly used to test water quality.