The growing scarcity of water and the increase in bills in the United Kingdom pushed Hope Underwood, a recent graduate to Northumbria University, to design Mains to Rains, an innovative retrofit kit for the harvesting of rainwater that easily connects to domestic gutters to reuse water in the toilet.
During his last year in the course Design for Industry At Northumbria University, Hope Underwood has developed a practical and sustainable system to face one of the most urgent challenges of our time: the water emergency linked to climate change.
The project, called Mains to Rains, consists of a modular tank to be mounted on the wall, capable of collecting and preserving the rainwater conveyed by the gutters, and then used it in the feeding of the jacking.
A surprising figure has guided Underwood’s search: the toilet is responsible for about 30% of the consumption of domestic water, thus representing the main entry of waste. The goal of the kit is to replace drinking water with rainwater for this daily function, avoiding that liters of clean water be thrown unnecessarily every day.
Simple installation, scalable design and benefits for everyone
The system is easily installed: just remove a part of the existing rainfall and insert a detour that directs the water to the cistern, equipped with a filter, solenoid valve to avoid contamination and an insert for calm water, which reduces the dispersion of the sediments.
In case of absence of rain, the kit is also connected to running water through an automatic filling system, which guarantees continuous availability for the toilet.
Modular design also allows you to increase the capacity according to the needs of the family: each section is 50 liters and can be combined with the others through rubber seals and waterproof adhesive. The entire system was designed to easily adapt to buildings and homes with toilet on the back, like those in the Tyneside area, where the designer lived.
The proposal has also attracted the interest of Northumbrian Water, a local water company, which highlighted as incentives or public subsidies for a system like this would not represent a cost, but an investment in the conservation of long -term water.
According to Underwood, the price of the kit could be recovered through savings in the bill over a year. Users with water counters would benefit in particular of a “pay as you go” model, paying less thanks to the reduction of the use of drinking water.
A vision for the future
The Main to Rain prototype was presented to a reduced scale at the New Designers event, a showcase for the best emerging design talents. The intention of Hope Underwood is clear: finding an industrial partner to bring the product on a large scale and spread it in the homes of the whole country.
According to her, this technology has the potential to make a difference, not only on an individual level, but for the entire ecosystem:
I would like to continue developing Mains to rains and finding a way to apply it on a large scale: everyone would benefit from it, especially the planet.
The project is part of the growing panorama of innovative solutions designed by students to face the climatic crisis. Among the most curious ideas: harvesting hats and jackets that capture the humidity of the air. A sign that the new generations are increasingly involved in the search for concrete and sustainable solutions.
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