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01

Water in the Suburban Home: Gardens 6.1%

Introduction Clothes washing 14.0%

Water-related technology in the suburban home Tolets 25.0%

addresses the following areas and sub-topics:
Car washing 0.7%
Plumbing
Potable cold and hot water supply
On-demand hot water
Solar water heating
Faucets
Septic systems, traps, drains and vents
Toilets
Rainwater, surface and subsurface drainage
Collection
Water treatment
Water recycling
Hot water heat recycling
Grey water recycling
Irrigation
Pumps and Valves
Humidity sensing and control Direct heating system 0.1%

http://www.rainharvesting.co.uk/images/pie.gif
Sensors
Humidifiers
Dehumidifiers Drinking and other 13.1%
Water sensing and actuating
Presence
Level Dish washing 7.7%
Flow
Switches
Auguino Personal washing 33.3%

Household Water Use

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Water in the Suburban Home: Water in the Suburban Home:

Potable Cold and Hot Water Supply Solar Water Heating

http://www.victoriaplumb.com/bathroom_DIY/page/4

The providing of clean tap water in modern
societies is a massive system of water purification
plants, aqueducts, water wells, above-ground and
underground water storage tanks, underground
tunnels, piping, and occasionally water pumps, all
designed and built by civil engineers and construction
companies under the supervision of such engineers
(wikipedia.com).
Hot water supply is generally achieved through
heating municipal or well water in a gas or electric
water heater. A couple of alternatives to this are on-
demand hot water systems and solar water heating.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_water_heating
Solar water heating systems are a mature re-
newable energy technology which have been ac-
cepted in most countries for many years. In a “close-
coupled” SWH system the storage tank is horizontally
mounted immediately above the solar collectors on
the roof. No pumping is required as the hot water natu-
rally rises into the tank through thermosiphon flow. In
a “pump-circulated” system the storage tank is ground
or floor mounted and is below the level of the collec-
tors; a circulating pump moves water or heat transfer
fluid between the tank and the collectors (wikipedia).
Domestic Water Systems Active Solar Water Heating

On-demand Hot Water

http://www.byexample.com/library/illustrations/hotwater/illus_hotwa-
On demand hot water systems may have
potential as a convenience product if not a water
conservation device. Currently they cannot be
considered a “must have” product like a clothes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_water_heating
washer or dishwasher. Verified water savings will
have to improve before utilities spend time and effort
promoting these products. The current stock of on
demand hot water heaters could be improved by
automating their operation. On many systems the
user must activate a pump by pressing a button prior

ter_3.jpg/image_view
to using hot water. If this activation step could be tied
to the faucet mechanism so that turning on the hot
water faucet fixture automatically activated the pump,
these systems would be much improved.

On Demand Hot Water Passive Solar Water Heating

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Water in the Suburban Home:
Faucets
Aside from newer, more effiecient faucets,
there are not many new technologies on the market.
One product that has considerable potential in the
residential market is the leaning style of hands free
faucet controller, as shown at right. The black bar
underneath the sink counter in Figure 1 is the on/off
control for the faucet. The temperature and flow rate
of the faucet are still adjusted with the handle, but
depressing the bar by leaning against it starts the flow
of water. When you move away, a spring pushes the
bar out and stops the water flow. The bar also has
a locking feature that enables the user to keep the
faucet flowing.
Another, product, which is easily replicable with
Arduino is pictured at right. Simply rotate the LED
faucet light onto your faucet tip and watch your stream
change colors according to the water’s temperature.
The light is blue during cold streams and it converts
to red during hot streams. A similar technology was
implemented in a shower head. This temperature
sensitive LED Shower Head, changes from blue
to green, and finally red as the water temperature
increases. A video of the latter can be seen here:
http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=dubbZJPm8BM
The Arduino version of this product,
Programmable LED Water Glow Sensor by Vision
Design, is shown in this video:
http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=Dfnkw2BidpM
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http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/about/tamaki/sewage_wastewater.
Water in the Suburban Home:
Septic Systems
In modern plumbing, a drain-waste-vent (or
DWV) is a system that removes sewage and greywa-
ter from a building and vents the gases produced by
said waste. Waste is produced at fixtures such as toi-
lets, sinks and showers, and exits the fixtures through
a trap, a dipped section of pipe that always contains
http://www.h2ouse.org
water. All fixtures must contain traps to prevent gases
from backing up into the house. Through traps, all fix-
tures are connected to waste lines, which in turn take
the waste to a soil stack, or soil vent pipe, which ex-
tends from the building drain at its lowest point up to
asp
Hands Free “Leaning” Faucet Control and out of the roof. Waste is removed from the build- Composting Toilet Diagram
ing through the building drain and taken to a sewage
line, which leads to a septic system or a public sewer
(wikipedia).
http://www.opulentitems.com/LED-Faucet-Light_p_623.html
Toilets
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dubbZJPm8BM
Composting and incinerator toilets are com-
http://www.localphilosophy.com/blog/index.php
pletely waterless options for some residential toilet
applications. These products are expensive and do
require some maintenance, but case studies report
that users are very satisfied with these products (Vick-
ers, 2001). In Europe a new electric toilet technology
offers the possibility of water savings, but not energy
efficiency. The toilet is constructed with a small electric
grinder in the trap. The grinder, similar to a garbage
disposal, grinds all solids and then uses only a small
amount of water to remove the waste into the sewer
(www.h2ouse.org).
Image Caption Composting Toilet
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Water in the Suburban Home:
Rainwater and Drainage
Modern drainage systems incorporate geotex-
tile filters that retain and prevent fine grains of soil
from passing into and clogging the drain. Geotextiles
are synthetic textile fabrics specially manufactured for
civil and environmental engineering applications. Geo-
textiles are designed to retain fine soil particles while
allowing water to pass through. In a typical drainage
system they would be laid along a trench which would
then be filled with coarse granular material: gravel, sea
shells, stone or rock. The geotextile is then folded over
the top of the stone and the trench is then covered
by soil. Groundwater seeps through the geotextile and
flows within the stone to an outfall. In high groundwa-
ter conditions a perforated plastic (PVC or PE) pipe is
laid along the base of the drain to increase the volume
of water transported in the drain (wikipedia).
Rainwater harvesting is the accumulating and
storing, of rainwater. Although some rooftop materi-
als may produce rainwater that is harmful to human
health, it can be useful in flushing toilets, washing
clothes, watering the garden and washing cars; these
uses alone halve the amount of water used by a typi-
cal home. Household rainfall catchment systems are
appropriate in areas with an average rainfall greater
than 200 mm (7.9 in) per year, and no other accessi-
ble water sources (Skinner and Cotton, 1992). There
are a number of types of systems to harvest rainwater
ranging from very simple to the complex industrial sys-
tems (wikipedia).
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Water in the Suburban Home:
http://www.pelicanwatertechnologies.com/carbon_series.php
Water Treatment
http://www.ecologicalgardens.com/summer_2009
Water purification is a process of removing un-
desirable chemicals, materials, and biological contam-
inants from raw water. The goal is to produce water fit
for a specific purpose. In general the methods used
include physical processes such as filtration and sedi-
mentation, biological processes such as slow sand
filters or activated sludge, chemical processes such
as flocculation and chlorination and the use of electro-
magnetic radiation such as ultraviolet light (wikipedia).
The Carbon Series Premium Whole House
Water Filter utilizes a multi stage filtration process to
Low Tech Rainwater Harvest filter the water going into you home. It uses the high- Pelican Whole House Water Filter
est grade carbons available on the market which were
designed/developed to completely remove or signifi-
cantly reduce chlorine, sediment and/or particulate
matter, VOC’s, SOC’s (synthetic organic chemicals),
THM’s, atrazine, benzene, pesticides, tastes, odors
http://www.hydrosoft-uk.co.uk/howasoftenerworks.html
and hundreds of potential contaminants and harmful
chemicals from the water supply entering your home
(www.pelicanwatertechnologies.com).
Water softening is an important process, be-
cause the hardness of water in households and com-
http://ramsinghkaswan.info/?p=20
panies is reduced during this process.When water
contains a significant amount of calcium and magne-
sium, it is called hard water, known to clog pipes and
to complicate soap and detergent dissolving in water
(www.truptwater.com).
Complex Rainwater Harvesting Water Softener
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Water in the Suburban Home:
Water Treatment (cont.)
Reverse osmosis is a filtration method that re-
moves many types of large molecules and ions from
solutions by applying pressure to the solution when it
is on one side of a selective membrane. The result is
that the solute is retained on the pressurized side of
the membrane and the pure solvent is allowed to pass
to the other side. To be “selective,” this membrane
should not allow large molecules or ions through the
pores (holes), but should allow smaller components
of the solution (such as the solvent) to pass freely
(wikipedia). One problem with home reverse osmosis
systems is that the units are expensive to purchase,
maintain and operate.
It is proven scientifically that 85% of child sick-
ness and 65% of adult diseases are produced by
water-borne viruses, bacteria and intestinal protozoa
such as Cryptosporidium and Giardia. Inappropriate
water treatment can lead to health problems - hepati-
tis B, tuberculosis, meningitis, typhoid fever, tricomo-
niasis, and cholera, glaucoma, gastrointestinal pain,
salmonella, poliovirus, and diarrhea. In North Ameri-
ca, E.coli O157:H7, an extremely dangerous strain of
E.coli bacteria, infects more than 80,000 people annu-
ally. Fortunately, E.coli O157:H7 is easily inactivated
by UV light. Disinfecting your drinking water with ul-
traviolet light (UV) makes good sense. Its environmen-
tally safe, its well proven, and its the way of the future
for water disinfection requirements around the globe
(www.nimbuswater.co.za).
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http://coolexcooling.com/2008/12/29/how-safe-reverse-osmosis-is-for-
Water in the Suburban Home:
Water Recycling
http://www.solartrex.com/alternative_energy.htm
Water heat recycling (also known as drain wa-
ter heat recovery DHR, greywater heat recovery, or
sometimes shower water heat recovery) is the use of
a heat exchanger to recover energy and reuse heat
from drain water from various activities such as dish-
washing, clothes washing and especially showers.
The technology is used to reduce primary energy con-
sumption for water heating. Standard units save up to
drinking-water/
60% of the heat energy that is otherwise lost down the
drain when using the shower (wikipedia).
This energy can be used to preheat cold water
Reverse Osmosis Water Filter going to showers, a water heater, or a dedicated stor- Water Heat Recycling
age device. DHR systems reduce the energy needed
http://www.naandi.org/provide_drinking_water/ReverseOsmosis.aspx
for heating water and, in essence, increase the capac-
http://www.reliant.com/en_US/Page/Generic/Public/esc_purchas-
ity of water heaters. Heat exchangers for use in DHR
vary in terms of pipe sizing, orientation of the drain line
ing_advisor_gas_fired_tank_water_heaters_bus_gen.jsp
(horizontal, vertical, or other), and heat exchanger de-
sign. They also vary in cost and the amount of energy
savings achieved. There are several residential drain-
water heat exchangers commercially available in the
U.S. Most have the ability to recover energy for later
use. Units with storage capacity can recover heat from
any waste hot water (e.g., from a dishwasher, clothes
washer, bathtub, or shower) which drains through the
heat recovery device. Without storage capacity, DHR
units provide useful energy recovery only during si-
multaneous flow of cold supply water and warm drain
water (for example, during showering) (www.toolbase.
org).
UV Water Filtration Drain Water Heat Recovery Pipe
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Water in the Suburban Home:
Water Recylcing
Greywater is wastewater generated from
domestic activities such as laundry, dishwashing, and
bathing, which can be recycled on-site for uses such
as landscape irrigation and constructed wetlands.
Greywater differs from water from the toilets which
is designated sewage or blackwater to indicate it
contains human waste. Greywater composes 50–
80% of residential wastewater generated from all
of the house’s sanitation equipment (except toilets)
(wikipedia).
The future of greywater and reuse systems
may be more in larger utility sponsored systems
rather than in small-scale residential systems. Many
utilities are actively pursuing the option of collecting,
treating, and reusing graywater and delivering this
water to customers via a dual pipe network. This water
is primarily used for irrigation at larger sites. On the
other hand, small-scale greywater systems installed
at individual homes have had mixed success. Some
systems perform well and give years of service while
others are abandoned after only a short period of
time. Development of residential greywater systems is
complicated by the fact that small greywater systems
are not legal in some cities and states. Furthermore,
economic analysis of the potential water savings,
benefits, and system costs reveals that these small
systems are unlikely to be cost effective. Unless local
laws are changed and the price of water increases
dramatically, it is unlikely that small-scale residential
greywater systems will reach a mass market in the
near future (www.h2ouse.org).
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http://www.toolbase.org/Docs/MainNav/NewBuildingTechnologies/im-
Water in the Suburban Home:
http://www.aquacraft.com/Products/Aq_Product_List.html
Irrigation
Drip irrigation, also known as trickle irrigation
or microirrigation, is an irrigation method which saves
water and fertilizer by allowing water to drip slowly
to the roots of plants, either onto the soil surface
or directly onto the root zone, through a network of
valves, pipes, tubing, and emitters (wikipedia).
ages/grywtrCulvert.jpg
There are irrigation control systems that use web
access for programming. WeatherTRAK® ET plus™
home irrigation system is one example. Supposely it
saves you money, time and water. Enjoy your healthy
landscape and lower water bills while you protect the
Greywater Culvert Detail environment and your property investment. Weather- WeatherTRAK
TRAK solutions deliver superior payback compared
with all other green technologies for the home. Just
enter basic information about your landscape and the
service takes over from there, automatically schedul-
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9399948@N05/3049288568/
ing your irrigation system based on landscape needs
and local weather conditions (www.hydropoint.com).
http://www.mesasystemsco.com/product.php?p=48
Another useful tool in irrigation could be a
soil moisture sensor. The PICO64 probe is one of
TRIME’s newest probes for monitoring volumetric
moisture in soil and other porous materials. The large
measurement volume is idea for burying and connec-
tion to the GlobeLog (data logger) or for portable use,
with the TRIME BT (Bluetooth) module and a PDA/
smart-phone running MS Windows Mobile (www.me-
sasystemsco.com).
Grey Water of Sink Fills Tank PICO64 Soil Moisture Probe
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Water in the Suburban Home:
Irrigation (cont.)
Garduino is a gardening Arduino. So far,
Garduino waters plants whenever their soil moisture
level drops below a predefined value, turns on grow
lights, but only when it’s dark out and only long
enough to make the plants get 15 hours of total
light (sunlight + supplemental light) daily, and alerts
if the temperature around the plants drops below 50
degrees. Instructions can be found here: http://www.
instructables.com/id/Garduino-Gardening-Arduino/
Another plant watering system is Botanicalls.
Botanicalls is a system that was developed to allow
plants to place phone calls for human help. When a
plant on the Botanicalls network needs water, it can
call a person and ask for exactly what it needs. When
people phone the plants, the plants orient callers to
their habits and characteristics. Call 212.202.8348
to hear more about each of the plants. Botanicalls
Kits let plants reach out for human help! They offer a
connection to your leafy pal via online Twitter status
updates to your mobile phone. When your plant needs
water, it will post to let you know, and send its thanks
when you show it love. (www.botanicalls.com).
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http://triolym.en.made-in-china.com/product/QosEWCzjEacy/China-
Water in the Suburban Home:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Garduino-Gardening-Arduino/
Pumps and Valves
Pumps are often used to circulate water. There
are many large pumps associated with the home, but
a small pump is available from Robotshop. It is the
Ergo Systems Auto Pet Waterer Pump & Transformer
Hydraulic-Solenoid-Valves.html
and costs $25. http://www.robotshop.ca/ergo-sys-
tems-auto-pet-waterer-pump-transformer-4.html
Here is a video of someone who made their
own Arduion controlled dog waterer: http://www.you-
tube.com/watch?v=qwk4zPXW8ZY
Also in systems involving water, valves are
used to open and close different parts of the system.
Garduino Hydraulic solenoid valves are in general similar to Hydraulic Solenoid Valves
pneumatic solenoid valves except that they control
http://www.eightlines.com/blog/2008/04/controlling-the-rain-by-arduino/
the flow of hydraulic fluid (oil), often at around 3000
psi (210 bar, 21 MPa, 21 MN/m²). Hydraulic machin-
ery uses solenoids to control the flow of oil to rams or
actuators to (for instance) bend sheets of titanium in
aerospace manufacturing. Solenoid-controlled valves
are often used in irrigation systems, where a relatively
http://www.botanicalls.com/archived_kits/twitter/
weak solenoid opens and closes a small pilot valve,
which in turn activates the main valve by applying fluid
pressure to a piston or diaphragm that is mechanically
coupled to the main valve. Solenoids are also in ev-
eryday household items such as washing machines
http://vimeo.com/894013
to control the flow and amount of water into the drum
(wikipedia).
What if you could build a machine that rains, but
when you walked underneath you never got wet? This
was where the Rain Aversion project began. See the
video at right.
Botanicalls Rain Aversion Project
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Water in the Suburban Home:
Humidity Sensing and Control
Hygrometers are instruments used for measur-
ing relative humidity. A simple form of a hygrometer is
specifically known as a psychrometer and consists of
two thermometers, one of which includes a dry bulb
and one of which includes a bulb that is kept wet to
measure wet-bulb temperature. Modern electronic
devices use temperature of condensation, changes in
electrical resistance, and changes in electrical capaci-
tance to measure humidity changes. In residential
settings, hygrometers are used to aid humidity con-
trol (too low humidity damages human skin and body,
while too high humidity favours growth of mildew and
dust mite) (wikipedia).
A humidifier is a household appliance that in-
creases humidity (moisture) in a single room or in
the entire home. There are point-of-use humidifiers,
which are commonly used to humidify a single room,
and whole-house or furnace humidifiers, which con-
nect to a home’s HVAC system to provide humidity to
the entire house. Other types of humidifiers include:
Vaporizer (Steam Humidifier) (Warm Mist Humidifier),
Impeller Humidifier (Cool Mist Humidifier), and Ultra-
sonic Humidifier in which a metal diaphragm vibrating
at an ultrasonic frequency creates water droplets that
silently exit the humidifier in the form of a cool fog.
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Water in the Suburban Home:
http://www.remodelguide.com/improve/comfort/humidifier/humidi-
Humidity Sensing and Control
(cont.)
Conversely, a dehumidifier is typically a house-
hold appliance that reduces the level of humidity in the
air, usually for health reasons. Humid air can cause
mold and mildew to grow inside homes, which has
http://dehumidifier1.110mb.com/
various health risks. Very high humidity levels are also
unpleasant for human beings, can cause condensation
and can make it hard to dry laundry or sleep. Higher
humidity is also preferred by most insects, including
fier_works.html
clothes moths, fleas and cockroaches. Relative hu-
midity in dwellings is preferably 30 to 50% (Wikipedia).
One system that capitalizes on excess humidity
Types of Whole-House Humidifiers in the air is and Atmospheric Water Generator (AWG), Dehumidifier
which is a device that extracts water from humid ambi-
ent air. Water vapor in the air is condensed by cooling
the air below its dew point, exposing the air to desic-
cants, or pressurizing the air. Unlike a dehumidifier, an
AWG is designed to render the water potable. AWGs
are very useful in locations where pure drinking water
is difficult or impossible to obtain, as there is almost
always a small amount of water in the air. The two
http://www.airoswiss.net/info/ultrasonics/
primary techniques in use are cooling and desiccants
http://www.watair.com/products.php
(wikipedia).
An available commercial product is the Airjuicer
TM 4010 from Watair. It is basically a dehumidifier
combined with a water purification system and bubbler.
Ultrasonic Humidifier AirJuicer TM 4010
CH.01 CH.02 CH.03 CH.04 CH.05 CH.06 CH.07
Water in the Suburban Home:
Water Sensing and Actuating
A Water detector is a small electronic device
that is designed to detect the presence of water and
alert humans in time to allow the prevention of water
damage. A common design is a small device that lays
flat on a floor and relies on the electrical conductivity
of water to decrease the resistance across two con-
tacts. A 9 volt battery then sounds an audible alarm in
the presence of enough water to bridge the contacts.
These are useful in a normally occupied area near any
appliance that has the potential to leak water, such as
a washing machine, refrigerator with icemaker, dehu-
midifier, air conditioner, or water heater (wikipedia).
Pictured top right is a homemade leak detector.
Once it senses water, it sounds an alarm to warn
the user or turn off a water valve immediately. It’s a
super sensitive device, which can be used to detect a
water leak under a washing machine, a water heater
or any other water leak in your house! The E sensor
water leak detector is based on the MC33794, which
is capable to sense or measure how much current is
flowing between two plates. Normally, the MC33794 is
used to sense the water and act as a second plate of
the capacitor. Since the system works by sensing a
field, hence the sensor doesn’t need any moving parts
or a direct contact with the water!
Another hacked leak sensor is the Bluetooth
Water Sensor, which detects water leak, shuts off wa-
ter and informs homeowner via cell phone. Video link
is at right.
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Water in the Suburban Home:
http://www.embedds.com/arduino-based-capacitive-liquid-sensor/
http://www.embedds.com/the-best-e-sensor-water-leak-detector/
Water Sensing and Actuating
(cont.)
Measuring water levels is another common
sensing function. Water or any other liquid level sen-
sors can be handy around a house. It can be used
to monitor a water tank level in a greenhouse or in
other areas where liquid level has to be known. The
idea is pretty simple – measure a capacitance charge
between two metal plates/foils, which varies due liquid
level change between them. Of course container has
to be non metal. Probably most important part is to
read capacitance. For this there is a handy Arduino
Capacitive Sensing Library ready for you. To measure
Homemade Leak Sensor capacitance is to measure capacitors charge/dis- Capacitive Liquid Sensor
charge time through resistor.
http://parts.digikey.com/1/parts-kws/components-differential-pressure
Another way to measure water level is through
http://www.practicalarduino.com/projects/water-tank-depth-sensor
pressure. Using a differential pressure transducer, the
water pressure is measured at the bottom of the tank,
and from that the fullness of the tank is calculated.
Water pressure increases by about 9.8067kPa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4Nd9o16M6k
per meter of depth so a full tank 2m tall will have a
pressure at the bottom of about 19.6134kPa above
ambient atmospheric pressure. The “above ambient
atmospheric pressure” part is important: it’s not enough
to simply measure the pressure at the bottom of the
tank because varying climate conditions will alter the
reading. That’s why this project uses a “differential”
pressure transducer that has two inlets. By leaving
one inlet open to the atmosphere and connecting
the other to the bottom of the tank the transducer will
output the difference between the two, automatically
compensating for varying air pressure and giving a
Bluetooth Water Sensor Video Still constant reading for constant depth (practicalarduino). Differential Pressure Transducer
CH.01 CH.02 CH.03 CH.04 CH.05 CH.06 CH.07
Water in the Suburban Home:
Water Sensing and Actuating
(cont.)
This low tech water level sensor consists of 10
resistors of 1k in a serial configuration and one of 10k
to limit current. It will be connected to 5v in order not
to harm any fish. How it works? The resistors of 1k will
be mounted on a plastic tube and a aluminum strip
will be glued to the other side. When the water level
is very high all the resistors will be shorted and no
current will go the the Arduino. When the water level is
very low all the 1k resistors will be active, in total 10k,
so current will go to the Arduino. When the water level
is somewhere in between some of the resistors will be
shorted and some will not be shorted, resulting in a
different current (pompie-arduino.blogspot).
Another project is a Water Gauge Sensor.
Thisproduct lights up and buzzes when there is no
water in the gauge. (Buzz optional). Another break
through for Maxitrak we have developed the first easy
to fit Low water alarm for model steam locos. Fits 5mm
glass, glass and O-rings supplied to fit 5mm glass to
6 mm fittings. 9 Volt, self-contained set in plastic box
with cable connection to sensor. Perfect for low light
conditions, night running or people who have poor
eyesight (see video at right).
Another level sensor system checks the water
level of an overhead tank and sends the data using
radio frequency wireless modules. There are some
LEDs on the receiving unit which indicate the water
level and a piezo speaker which alerts when the tank
is empty or is about to overflow (letsmakerobots).
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http://www.okokchina.com/product/Electrical/Generators_Cables_Re-
Water in the Suburban Home:
http://pompie-arduino.blogspot.com/2007_01_01_archive.html
Water Sensing and Actuating
(cont.)
Another way to gauge the level of a liquid is with
the eTape Liquid Level Sensor is a solid-state sensor.
Output resistance varies depending on the surface
height of the fluid. It’s primarily designed to be used in
non-corrosive water-based liquids and dry fluids (pow-
ders). The eTape sensor’s envelope is compressed
lated_Products/Sensors/
by the hydrostatic pressure of the fluid in which it is
immersed. This results in a change in resistance that
corresponds to the distance from the top of the sen-
sor to the surface of the fluid: http://www.parallax.com/
StoreSearchResults/tabid/768/txtSearch/float/List/0/
Water Level Sensor SortField/4/ProductID/590/Default.aspx Flow Control Gauge
Flow rate is another way to measure water.
http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/water-flow-sensor-p-635.html?cPat
This project,http://www.practicalarduino.com/projects/
water-flow-gauge, uses a flow rate gauge containing a
Hall-effect sensor that outputs a pulse rate proportion-
al to flow rate. We’ve also included an LCD module
so that the unit can report flow rate and volume both
h=6&zenid=594b89701c7a2015a13064b67aed4f44
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LBMHo2RJAs
via the serial connection to a connected host and also
directly via the LCD. The example program calculates
and displays current flow rate, and also maintains two
http://letsmakerobots.com/node/21596
cumulative counters of the volume that has flowed
through the sensor.
This G1/2 Water Flow sensor consists of a
plastic valve body, a water rotor, and a hall-effect sen-
sor. When water flows through the rotor, rotor rolls.
Its speed changes with different rate of flow. The hall-
effect sensor outputs the corresponding pulse Signal.
The part costs $9.50 from Seedstudio.com.
Water Level Sensor Water Flow Sensor
CH.01 CH.02 CH.03 CH.04 CH.05 CH.06 CH.07
Water in the Suburban Home:
Water Sensing and Actuating
(cont.)
The goal of another water flow project is to
detect water flow and drive ambient LED display. This
project use piezo transducer as sensor, Some LEDS
for display and Arduino as main controller. The device
is a rough prototype of what will eventually become
a persuasive technology that motivates sustainable
behavior and raises awareness about water use, say
Stacey Kuznetsov, the designer (circuitlake.com). The
video link is show at right.
Another important aspect of water sensing is
chemicals. The Liquisys M transmitter provides safe
and reliable measurement of pH/redox, conductivity,
dissolved oxygen, turbidity and residual chlorine. A
vast range of measurement sensors and a modular
range of installation assemblies for flow through and
dip applications are available. The range extends from
single and multi assembly sensors through to complex
self-cleaning and calibrating assemblies.
A DIY version is pHloat, a DIY kit that is made
for use in conjunction with a pre-owned / pre-existing
arduino microcontroller. Its purpose is to test the
pH levels in local rivers, lakes, and streams due to
the influx of air and water pollution often caused by
acid rain. It is specifically designed to be used in
areas that are home to refineries, chemical plants,
and manufacturing industries that are causing
environmental damage. However, it can be used in any
body of water to test acidity levels. pHloat functions
through the modification of a simple garden moisture
and pH sensor that can be purchased at any home
improvement store. Link is found at right.
CH.08 CH.09 CH.09 CH.08 CH.07 CH.06 CH.05 CH.04 CH.03 CH.02 CH.01
http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/flow-switchmrw1p-p-256.html?cPat
http://www.circuitlake.com/arduino-low-cost-water-flow-sensor.html
Water in the Suburban Home:
Water Sensing and Actuating
h=84_87&zenid=594b89701c7a2015a13064b67aed4f44
(cont.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F97-HiDMDFw
Two sensors which interact with water are the
Flow Switch and a Reed Switch. The purpose of a
float switch is to open or close a circuit as the level of
a liquid rises or falls. Most float switches are “normally
closed,” meaning the two wires coming from the top of
the switch complete a circuit when the float is at its low
point, resting on its bottom clip or stop (for example,
when a tank is dry). Most float switches utilize a mag-
netic reed switch to open or close the circuit. The reed
is encased in a glass tube, which is cemented into a
plastic or stainless steel stem with epoxy. The illustra-
Persuasive Technology tion to the right demonstrates how a magnet can be Float Switch
used to open or close a circuit by moving it closer to
or farther away from a reed switch. When the magnet
http://www.water-technology.net/contractors/automation/endress/
comes close to the two contacts, they draw together
and touch, allowing current to pass through. When
http://www.chicagosensor.com/HowFloatSwitchesWork.html
the magnet is moved away, the contacts demagnetize
and separate, breaking the circuit. In a float switch,
http://www.instructables.com/id/pHloat-2/
the magnetic reed switch is hermetically sealed in a
stem, most often made from plastic or stainless steel.
The float encases a sealed magnet, which moves up
and down the length of the stem as a fluid level rises
and falls.
Sparkfun sells the reed switch separately and
http://www.fluidswitch.com/ is a good resource for
many kinds of liquid sensors and switches.
Liquisys Reed Switch Diagram
CH.01 CH.02 CH.03 CH.04 CH.05 CH.06 CH.07 CH.08 CH.09

Water in the Suburban Home:

Auguino

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-xayG20AXs
The following are links to various DIY projects
focused on using water with Arduino:

How-to-guide for connecting Water Sensor to

your Arduino: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-
xayG20AXs

Using water as a button: http://www.youtube.

com/watch?v=6Mn6UmRbD6g

Connecting an Arduino board (www.arduino.cc)

to a Rinnai Infinity tankless hot water service so it can How-to-guide Video Still
be controlled by a home automation system: http://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXzgxtWD3lU

A piano that plays with water! A new concept for

water musical instrument: http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=v5vX840NZTg

An Arduino based Smart Thermostat. It uses an

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower_robot
arduino, 3310 LCD shield, 5 x Dallas/Maxim D18B20
temp sensors. Displays the temperature of a hot water
cylinder at 5 different ‘heights’, and shows how many
showers can be had with that water. It also allows the
user to request water for a certain number of showers,
it will then fire the boiler accordingly: http://www.you-
tube.com/watch?v=Bzjp8KM3nvc

Finally, check out Flower Robot, used as intel-

ligent home appliances: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Flower_robot Flower Robot