A Couple of New Faucet Inventions Include...

There are a couple of new techie devices for faucets that are pretty neat:

First we have the "Spring-Loaded Smart Faucet." (shown to the right here) It can attach to pretty much any tap.  You can leave the faucet handles open and the water doesn't run unless you are pressing on the slick chrome vertical bar over there.  This one might be a little over the top for saving money on water, but it can definitely help with hot water savings and what not.  It is basically an alternative for having the motion sensor to turn the water on.

Second, if you really want to work for your water, a designer named Harvey Bewley has come up with the "Twist Faucet" which is this one over to the left.  To get the water out of this thing you have to crank the knob.   It also has a digital read-out that shows how much water you are consuming as well as a water temperature gauge.  This is new age faucet is just a concept right now, so you can't really get this one in the store quite yet.  Still it is a neat idea, and I think temperature gauges are up and coming seeing as how the digital temperature is almost required for the new instant water heaters some  residence have starting installing in their homes.

Timed-rotary faucet adds to eco-friendly appeal.

      Turn this lavatory faucets retro rotary dial to 5, 10 or 15 seconds to manage how long the water flows from the spout.  Designer, Eun Ji Byeon developed this stylish polished metal design to make its users become eco-conscious and get a little joy out of new ways to conserve water when washing your hands.

      This is a cool alternative to the push-button water conservative faucets, in which you would never know how long the water will flow until you have to press it again.  Here you just turn the dial, just like an old-rotary phone, to the desired amount of seconds for the water to flow.  This faucet is great for residential applications where the the very expensive motion sensing faucets can not be used.

     There is an option on this new faucet to keep the water continually flowing, but the idea of being able to gauge how much (or how long) you need water to flow is very interesting.  In addition to a new timing mechanism for water flow, it also increases the user's awareness of how much water is needed to perform different tasks like washing hands or brushing teeth.

       

Why Would Someone Steal Your Faucet?

      Apparently, lavatory faucets are pretty hot on the black market these days.  Last Friday, faucets were stolen out of a bathroom of a Quiznos Subs in Lakewood, Colorado.  Val Watson, co-owner said "When I saw it, I was shocked, and then everyone who came in afterward, they were shocked, too."  Nothing like this has ever happened to the Watson's Sub shop in the past five years they have owned it.  
      
     Steve Davis, a spokesman of the Lakewood Police Department, said "In the last few years, it seems like anything made out of copper, bronze and sometimes aluminum has become something that is stolen.  No matter what form it's in."   With the economy the way it is, many precious metals have been highlighted as a valuable material and can be worth quite a chunk of change at the recycling centers.  Maybe we should start lo-jacking any fixture with an abundant amount of metal associated with it.