The Waterpebble™ is a new “smart” timer designed to reduce water use when showering.

“When placed by the shower drain, Waterpebble™ senses the water flowing around it and automatically times your first shower and uses that time as a benchmark for future showers,” said Jonathan Smith of Dry-Planet.com, based at Douglas, Isle of Man, United Kingdom. Smith was among the exhibitors at the recent WaterSmart Innovations ’09 Conference in Las Vegas.

“A series of soft, flashing lights indicate how much time you are spending in the shower compared to the original benchmark. The lights start out green, then yellow, and finally red, indicating your shower time is up! Waterpebble™ is unique in that it reduces the total time by five percent every three showers—up to a total 33 percent of shower time. This encourages persons to save water, energy, and money,” Smith said.

The current Waterpebble™ design does not allow for its battery to be replaced; however, it should last around 3 to 4 months under normal use. The entire Waterpebble™ can be recycled, when the battery is depleted.

Additional information about the Waterpebble™ is available at www.dry-planet.com or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Ever wonder how many times a farmer has stopped in his field, wiped the sweat from his brow, and wished that his crop could tell him when it needed irrigation water? Well, new irrigation management products developed by Smartfield™ in Lubbock, TX are making that almost a reality!

Featuring United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) patented technology, SmartCrop© uses an accurate but low cost temperature sensor to measure the temperature of the surface of a crop leaf (“canopy temperature”). A field sensor in the grower’s field takes this reading at one minute intervals each day.

These temperature data are relayed to a centrally-located base station, along with other weather-related data. The temperature information is compared to the crop species’ known optimal temperature, coupled with a time threshold, to determine when the crop is experiencing water stress.

If this is the case, the system notifies the producer via a text message or e-mail that crop irrigation is needed. This allows water to be applied to the crop only when needed—thus avoiding unnecessary irrigation and conserving the region’s limited groundwater supplies.

More information is available at www.smartfield.com or by calling the Smartfield office toll free at 877-412-8940.

Turnit2theright.org does not have an interest, proprietary right, or monetary right in this product. This product reflects new trends and is featured for informational purposes only.