It is already exist and called - Thermostatic valve with volume control. I recently installed this one
http://www.amazon.com/T17T051-SS-Dryden-Tempassure-Series-St...
Nest for showers
21–28 of 28 posts
Re: Nest for showers
#22I had this in my last apartment in Tokyo.
In Japan, water is commonly heated by gas-powered flash heaters. In that apartment, the heater was controlled digitally and there were up/down buttons that would change the temperature by 1 degree Celsius.
It would remember the most recent setting between uses, so all I had to do was remember my favorite number, ensure it was set to that number upon start, and hop in.
It was simpler in function than a Nest and much less pretty, but it was functional and got me the water temperature I wanted.
Re: Nest for showers
#23The solution already exists: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermostatic_mixing_valve
I have one from Delta - http://www.amazon.com/T17T051-SS-Dryden-Tempassure-Series-St... . It works like a charm.
Agreed, and as a mechanical solution, it is likely better than an electronic solution in a damp environment such as a shower.
Re: Nest for showers
#24Most European/Asian showers have already solved this, without anything that runs on electricity or needs firmware. Purely mechanical.
Re: Nest for showers
#25I've been working on building an arduino-powered solution for this but for sinks, using 2 servos to control the hot/cold faucets and a waterproof temp sensor measuring/controlling the output. Initial challenge was easy, but I'm now having issues with the fact that the pipes cool/warm over time as they get used, and that doesn't seem to be playing well with the basic logic I have in place to keep the temp. balanced.
Have a look at Model Predictive Control :). It's one of the simpler methods beyond straight forward feedback systems. https://controls.engin.umich.edu/wiki/index.php/MPC
Very cool. Thanks a lot for sharing, this is a perfect solution for what I'm encountering.
Re: Nest for showers
#26The shower in my parents house has this. Since 1984. Mechanically. And working perfect.
Re: Nest for showers
#27Honestly, after using one of those fancy showers that had exactly the features you describe, it was a huge pain in the ass: 1. I'm extremely short-sighted, and of course I don't wear glasses when I shower, so reading the LCD display to make adjustments was a pain in the ass. 2. There was an option to save settings for guests (which I was) but I never bothered taking the time to use it, so every time I wanted to showe…
A shower with traditional knobs, and a sensor of some kind. The first time you use it, you set the temperature/pressure with the knobs. After that: You step in, the shower detects you, and automatically uses your previous temperature/pressure. The sensor could use facial recognition, or a footprint scanner, or a fingerprint scanner, etc.
Re: Nest for showers
#28Speaking of saving energy in the shower, I've seen an interesting gizmo for that [1].
It addresses the problem of wasted hot water when people get involved in other things while they are waiting for the shower to warm up. They turn on the hot water, and then go shave or brush their teeth or start the coffee maker or check email, or whatever, and can waste a lot of hot water between the time the shower has warmed up and the time they return to take their shower.
This gizmo senses when the water has warmed up, and then restricts the flow down to a trickle, until you pull the switch to restore the flow. The change from full flow to trickle acts as a signal to tell you the shower is ready, and the trickle wastes much less how water than the full flow does.
[1] http://www.amazon.com/Evolve-Showerheads-SS-1002CP-SB-Water-...