The market
The global market for bathroom and kitchen faucets was estimated at $15 billion in 2010. This well-defined product range, encompassing kitchen and bathroom faucets, showerheads, taps, basin mixers, and pipes, has become a rapidly growing market. These mechanical devices are found in virtually every home worldwide with running water. As the middle class expands in Asia and Europeans upgrade their household appliances, this market segment is emerging as a key indicator of economic growth. China's growth is significantly influencing this residential and commercial real estate market. The global market leader is Grohe AG, the German manufacturer that controls approximately 10% of global sales. The private equity firm employs some 5,000 people and has factories on three continents. This consumer product category requires nearly one million pounds of processed copper and brass (a mixture of copper and zinc, sometimes including nickel and manganese) in fittings each year, and this figure is growing. This volume represents 11% of the global market, exceeding the demand for these non-ferrous metals by industrial machinery. Raw material prices, primarily for copper and brass, have tripled in recent years, forcing the industry to embrace material efficiency and material substitution to remain competitive. This has led to increased use of plastics. While the growing demand for copper and brass is driving up prices, these metals play a central role in biofilm control. Pathogens such as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and Clostridium difficile, which can spread by contact, die within hours on copper and brass surfaces. Stainless steel and plastics do not benefit from this control mechanism. It is therefore clear that bathroom and kitchen faucet manufacturers, focused on quality and performance, will continue to rely on these essential materials. Fortunately, brass is widely recycled, and in most Western countries, manufacturers use almost 100% scrap metal.
Innovation
The integration of kitchen and bathroom fixtures with electronics has become a major trend in the industry. Infrared sensors, enabling touchless flushing and shut-off functions, have led to further improvements in hygiene, reducing the risk of transferring harmful bacteria while also providing better control over water consumption. The downside is that a traditional mechanical product with a lifespan exceeding 40 years is now subject to shorter lifecycles and higher maintenance costs. Furthermore, even wider use in residential and commercial buildings further increases electricity consumption, even when individual use per point of contact appears minimal. Professors Daniel Kwok and Larry Kostiuk of the University of Alberta, based in Edmonton, Canada, have observed how certain atoms in solids are released when they come into contact with a moving fluid. This releases negative electrons that are free to move and create positive ions. Some flow with the fluid leaving the solid with a net charge. If the solid is not conductive, the charge is localized. This attracts oppositely charged ions and repels like-charged ions, creating a thin charged layer inside the pipes. The professors advanced their research by flowing water through tiny channels the size of an "electrical double layer"—between nanometers and micrometers thick. This flow carries charges across the channel, creating a voltage between the two ends. While the power generated by a single channel is extremely low, millions of parallel channels can be used to increase the electrical power to useful levels. Just as a whale manages to pump a thousand liters of blood with each heartbeat, relying on 70 millivolts of electricity produced in its cells, this idea could one day power larger devices. Applying this concept of electricity production in microelectronic devices offers the possibility of powering all the electronics that supply sanitary and kitchen taps, directly from running water through micro-channels.
The first cash flow
The Taiwan-based Industrial Technology Research Center (ITRI) is investigating the potential of using water flow through pipes to generate energy for commercial products. ITRI engineers recently unveiled prototype bathroom and kitchen faucets equipped with LED indicators that visually signal whether the water is cold, lukewarm, hot, or too hot to use. The temperature sensors and LEDs are powered by the water flow itself. These indicator lights add an important safety element to the existing microelectronics integrated into faucets and fittings. This creates multiple benefits from an available energy source (water flow), extending to energy recovery through electricity generation, while also advancing health and safety. This is one of the hallmarks of the blue economy.
The opportunity
ITRI has developed a range of other practical applications that are nearing commercialization. The fire hose used by firefighters was equipped with the same electricity-generating turbines and a powerful 50W LED that illuminates the water stream in the air, allowing firefighters to follow its precise direction within the flame. Continuing along the lines of fire safety, engineers equipped indoor water sprayers activated by fire alarms with the same device. This allows for a complete overhaul of the system and overcomes one of the biggest challenges in safety management. When activated, the sprayer illuminates the path to the emergency exit with a bright light powered by the water flow. Because the devices are powered by the water flow itself, and the lights are highly efficient LEDs, this system reduces the amount of wiring and eliminates the need for separate electrical circuits and power supplies, including sealed batteries. In addition to these large-scale applications that improve the performance of the building industry without further straining electrical resources, these devices could one day power MEMS (microelectromechanical systems). These small, electrically powered devices are used in inkjet printers, airbag deployment systems, pressure sensors, and optical switching devices. As Professors Kwok and Kostiuk's innovative ideas move from the laboratory to industrial scale, and as ITRI shifts its business strategies toward miniaturization, this new energy source that harnesses the power of gravity and pressure will enable future innovations to be powered locally. This appears to offer a broad platform for entrepreneurship.
