Help to get further with a schoolproject

Other Hardware Product Design
1

Hello

Well as the title says I have began a schoolproject with Arduino as my microcontroller.
Well we got a theme called water, how do we save, and maintain water in the future. When we will then have to come up with a solution.

My group toke a look at watermixers (you know those in showers and sink). Alot of water is wasted then we wait for the hot water to come.
Our solution is about taking an Arduino with a thermosensor connected to the hot water pipe to register then the water is hot enough to be sent directly into the watermixer. We have installed some magnetic valves, to open and close, so we can lead the non not water away from the watermixer into a tank of some kind.

Our problem is then you are walking out of the shower, how do we turn the system off then a person walks away? Right now if the water is getting to low in the pipe the water will go to the external tank. We have installed an potentiometer to let the user choose the desired temperature then the magnetic valve is opening.

But is there anyone who have a suggestion to how we make the system automatically time it self out or shut down? (So we eliminate the problem if you forget to turn off the Arduino after shower)

Hope you guys understand my English fair enough to understand what i am trying to point out :slight_smile:
I have illustrated our system beneath.

  • Thanks!

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2

Put in a water flow sensor. No running water, no need to do anything. Running water, assume that hot will be needed at some point, fire up the system.

3

Thanks for the reply. But i don't think that a flow sensor will work. We do not make the water come out before it has reached the wanted temperature. This means then the temperature is right, the magnetic valve to the tank will close and the magnetic valve to the watermixer will open.
So we will have the water to flow, even then we still not have entered the shower yet. Maybe a tilt switch can do the job if we attach it to the watermixer lever.. I actually think i will try that out :slight_smile: