One of the major issues with ecology groups is the amount of water wasted by Americans each year, which is essentially ‘money down the drain.’ Hope of saving the wasted water is not lost with the advent of a new invention called the OrbSys Shower.
Created by Mehrdad Mahdjoubi, a Swedish industrial designer, the OrbSys Shower is a shower that recycles water while it is being used. According to research conducted by Orbital Systems, Mahdjoubi’s company involved with the OrbSys Shower, using this new shower could save 90 percent of the water and 80 percent of the energy used in a traditional shower. This would result in an estimated savings of $1,351 a year on energy bills.
“I wouldn’t mind washing with recycled water, but I wouldn’t really be comfortable with it until I knew how [the shower]recycled the water,” said Sophomore Ciris Perez.
The OrbSys Shower works on a ‘closed-loop system’ where water falling from the faucet enters the drain that doubles as a purification mechanism. This drain filters water to clean it and sends it back to the water tank to be used again. The water circulating in the system will remain hot longer than other showers and won’t need too much reheating. This is about the same process used by the showers and water systems in space where the astronauts can survive for years with the same recycled and purified water.
“I think this is a good idea,” said Sophomore Lauren Shelmet. “We need to conserve the water on Earth.”
According to CNN, these water recycling showers have already been installed at Ribersborgs Kallbadhus, a coastal bath house in Sweden, and have been popular with visitors. Mahdjoubi was introduced to Nille Juul-Sørensen, a Danish industrial engineer and designer of the Triangeln train station in Malmo, Sweden, with the intentions of widening the potential of the OrbSys Shower. Mahdjoubi has said that he wants to improve his design to make it more accessible to the public.
“I don’t care about using this shower, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to buy it. I’d always question just how clean and purified the recycled water is,” said Sophomore Marie Ryan.
Once the technology used in the OrbSys Shower becomes more accessible to the public, it can be applied to other plumbing systems like sinks, faucets, and drinking fountains.
“I might buy a water recycling shower if it was affordable and clearly explained how it worked to recycle and purify the water,” said Shelmet.
