The Claim
The clever device monitors water going down the plug hole when you shower. Memorising your first shower and using it as a benchmark, Waterpebble then indicates, via a series of ‘traffic lights’ flashing gently from green through to red, when to finish showering. Each time you shower Waterpebble automatically fractionally reduces your shower time helping you to save water without needing to think about it.
Set it and forget it!
How does it work?
The first time you use the Waterpebble you calibrate it using the ‘reset’ button. Once this has been pressed you place it near the plug and shower as normal. The Waterpebble records the time taken for this first shower and then going forward uses this as a benchmark for future showers. The Waterpebble glows green when the water starts, goes orange to show when you should start thinking about getting out of the shower and red when you have gone beyond what is necessary.
How did it work for me?
The first thing to mention is that the Waterpebble looks great – a hell of a lot better than those really cheapy hourglass shower monitors the water companies used to give out. It really is very easy to use to – you literally press the reset button and put it on the floor of the shower so it gets sprayed with water when you turn the shower on. It senses the water and starts flashing green letting you know it is good to go. It is great that it is automatic – it starts as and when you turn on the shower, however herein lies the problem.
My shower takes about 1 minute to run hot, but I know that my girlfriends shower takes about 3 or 4 mins to run hot (she has a combi boiler) although the amount of time changes depending on if the shower has been used relatively recently before. The issue is then that the Waterpebble springs into life the minute you turn on the tap however, I don’t necessarily jump in straight away, so already my shower time is ebbing away.
I know when you calibrate it you can take into account the warming time, but as this varies from day to day you can hopefully see the issue. On the whole though, this is at most going to vary by only 20-30 seconds a day and the point is that over time the Waterpebble reduces the time it takes for the red light to flash slowly weaning you off the longer showers.
As far as water saving bits of kit go, the Waterpebble did work well. The fact it is automated makes it so easy to use and the use of the traffic light system really does cause a feeling of guilt if you shower for too long.
Priced under £10, these are a great idea if you are on metered water and have to pay for the amount of water you are using, but even if not, the less hot water you use in the home, the less gas used thereby saving you money, so in my opinion well worth taking a look!
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