Outcome

Concept Description

Flow Stopper 9000 is designed to help regulate water usage in residential housing. The user can set a monthly water usage limit, and the Flow Stopper 9000 will automatically stop the supply of water if that limit is met. Flow Stopper 9000’s intuitive, 9-key interface allows users to specify a desired cap on their water bill and Flow Stopper 9000 automatically calculates monthly water usage based on local utility charges and the desired water bill. Flow Stopper integrates easily into most home water mains and installs in seconds. 

Would-be Implementation

Hardware:

 - Spark core

 - Solenoid Valve

- Screen and keypad

- Flow sensor

In order to implement the Flowstopper 9000, we would use a flow sensor to monitor the amount of water that is used throughout the day. Using data pulled from the local utility, the Spark core would be able to take a dollar amount input, and convert it to volume of water used. When the usage exceeds a certain amount, the Spark core would close the solenoid and cut off the flow of water to the house.

Video

Recommendations for Design

 - Plan and test for the worst-case scenario

 - Consider off-label usage

 - Include fail-safes and redundancies

 - Design an emergency stop that can manually override the device’s function if necessary

 - Provide feedback to the user so that they are aware of where they stand at all times

 - Include security to prevent others from altering the settings in the user’s device.

 - Consider multiple users within a single home and their individual usage of water