There are few — if any — innovations in the shower head industry groundbreaking enough to warrant one’s attention, however, a recent Kickstarter project absolutely falls into the ‘few’ category. Launched this week on the popular crowdfunding website, a novel intelligent shower head dubbed the I-Switch appears as fun to use as it is efficient. Featuring motion sensing technology which grants users the ability to change streams by waving their hand, the head also boasts perhaps the best feature native to any relative product: the ability to dramatically conserve water and energy.
A feature that is not the least bit a gimmick, the I-Switch shower head apparently cuts water use by an astounding 50 percent while in Mist mode. By making use of high pressure, Mist allows owners to reduce the amount of water used during a shower without feeling as though they are standing under a slowly trickling stream. Further, due in part to the fact the shower head operates solely off a hydro generator, there is never the need to change or charge batteries.
“Many families find that they’re paying a significant amount each month just to provide water to their home,” said I-Switch manufacturing company Huale on its Kickstarter page. “Since the I-Switch uses 50 percent less water in the Powerful Mist mode, imagine the savings this will translate to on [their] monthly water bill — in about one year, the shower head will actually pay for itself.”
And how about that price? Though early adopters have the ability to buy an I-Switch showerhead for roughly $133, Huale does offer Kickstarter discounted versions for just $159 once the early adopter specials run out. Compared to its future retail price of $268, the early adopter and Kickstarter discounted variations are wildly attractive.
Aside from helping users conserve water, the I-Switch showerhead also lets owners have a bit of fun with the thing. As mentioned above, Huale outfit the head with gesture controls which allow anyone showering with the device to quickly change the type of water stream just by waving their hand. One swipe changes the stream from Rain to Mist, whereas another changes it from Mist to Bubble — and so on.
Huale also made the I-Switch come standard with LED lighting capable of alerting owners to the general range in water temperature. Blue lighting signals the water temperature is below 80 degrees Fahrenheit, green means it is between 80 and 105 degrees, then red indicates a water temperature greater than 105 degrees. In other words, never again will anyone using an I-Switch hop into a freezing cold shower thinking it is already warmed up.
An innovative approach to a shower head, the I-Switch has already raised just shy of $6,000 with 34 days left in the campaign. Huale is hoping to reach its goal of $97,357 to bring this device to a wider audience.
