WaterWatcher
Submitted by: Jeremy Levine, Architect
Description: a monitoring tool that publicly displays how much water a household uses, thereby using “peer pressure” to curtail consumption
Designer’s Statement:
“The WaterWatcher is a is a publicly visible water meter with a glowing face that changes color based on the amount of water use for the house. The hands of the WaterWatcher rotate, ticking off water use by gallon increments.
Smart metering is an effective way of reducing water consumption by raising awareness. But becoming aware of something is not always enough to change behavior. However, by making our individual water use public, the WaterWatcher encourages conservation. Social Engineering through peer pressure.
“People don’t just want to conserve energy,” says Arizona State University psychologist Robert B. Cialdini, “they want to be acknowledged for conserving energy. The same thing applies to water conservation. “