A WATER SAVING SOLUTION WITH A TRIZ BASED METHOD
Year: 2015
Editor: Christian Weber, Stephan Husung, Gaetano Cascini, Marco CantaMESsa, Dorian Marjanovic, Francesca Montagna
Author: Russo, Davide; Spreafico, Christian; Mores, Nicola
Series: ICED
Institution: 1: University of Bergamo, Italy; 2: University of Pavia, Italy
Section: Innovation and Creativity
Page(s): 161-172
ISBN: 978-1-904670-71-1
ISSN: 2220-4334
Abstract
The number and breadth of eco-improvement methods has been steadily rising over the past deCADes. However a lot of eco-friendly product are struggling to find their collocation on the market. This deficit is generally due to the high costs of the proposed solutions. TRIZ methodology offers a structured way to simplify a technical system, exploiting all resources within it and overcoming internal contradictions that could prevent his evolution. Unfortunately a complete TRIZ activity could be time-consuming and requires people skilled in the art. In the present paper, we propose a simplified scheme, conceived to facilitate the use of the resources, totally based on TRIZ. Not to substitute, but to get along and systematize eco-design. A case study is proposed to save water from the tap opening until hot water starts to flow, which is usually wasted. Starting from an Italian application (www.bluewatersaving.it) obtained through patent research, the method can make this solution cheaper and more robust. Considering that for a big house (120 m2, 4 people) the water saving is up to 120k litres per year, the benefit consequential to its adoption on the planet would be considerable.
Keywords: Sustainability, Triz, Ecodesign, Design Methods