Moments of inspiration can strike at any time, but one teenager in Australia conjured up a new device for water conservation that would make the r/showerthoughts community on Reddit proud.
Rani East-Jeffs had her epiphany while watching water trickle down the drain as she waited for her shower to heat up. The 14-year-old, tasked with an assignment from her school to minimize wasted water, used that opportunity to devise an apparatus she calls Aqua Loop.
Her invention uses circuit boards, pipes, a button, and some solenoid valves to monitor the water's temperature and release it once it reaches the desired level.
Though she had always been interested in water conservation while living in a rural village in New South Wales, this project helped Rani realize she wasted 5 liters every time she waited for her shower to warm.
"[It's] a device that goes in your roof and it saves that water from being wasted, so that it doesn't even come out of the showerhead, and it recirculates back to the hot water system or wherever your hot water system comes from," Rani told Australian Broadcasting Corporation Mid North Coast.
According to her calculations, Aqua Loop could save a household of four an average of 2,628 liters of water annually. The benefits it could provide would save homeowners money and help preserve the world's most valuable resource — one threatened by rising global temperatures.
Her teacher at The Nature School in Port Macquarie, Lloyd Godson, praised the design's simplicity and accessibility. "The students weren't really expected to produce a working prototype. But Rani went above and beyond," he added, per ABC. Similar models exist in other countries, but none are available in Australia.
Aqua Loop has taken her to new heights, as well. With the encouragement of Godson, Rani presented it at a young inventors' conference at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney.
There, she drew the attention of Eman Soliman, founder and CEO of EduTech Australia, which creates science- and technology-based curricula for students on subjects like coding, robotics, and invention.
Soliman sponsored Rani to compete in the organization's STEAMS-Preneurs Education Program and Competition against 200 other participants. The program teaches young girls presentation and entrepreneurial skills and empowers them to pursue a career in science, technology, engineering, arts, and math.
Rani took home the STEAMS-preneurs NSW state champion award for Aqua Loop and will continue to work with EduTech Australia mentors to commercialize her product.
"I thought the actual invention will globally create a huge impact on saving water, particularly in remote and regional [areas] experiencing drought," Soliman said.
"Every time I tell someone, they're always like, 'I want it first, I want it first,'" Rani said of Aqua Loop. "I think I have 30 people I'm giving it to first."
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